Lover's Assassin
by BlueSharingan26
Summary: After the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sasuke escapes and no one knows what happened to him. Can Sakura find him before it's too late? And if she does find him, will he still act cold to her? Or will he begin to act something more towards her?
1. Prologue: The Escape

**Prologue: The Escape**

The Forth Great Ninja War is over, and Madara has been killed by Naruto. Sasuke became a prisoner of war and was placed in confinement. He would stay in confinement until the Hokage decided what to do with him. However, Sasuke easily escaped from the prison cell underground. No one knew how he managed to escape, seeing as how he was under constant Anbu surveillance.

Search parties were soon sent out throughout the Land of Fire and Wind. The Land of Wind was the only other nation besides the Land of Fire, to agree to help search for Sasuke. However, after the War the other Lands became arrogant once again and would not help any nation besides itself. Even though, Sasuke was there enemy back in the War, once he was captured he became the Land of Fire's responsibility. He wasn't there ninja, so why should they help? That's what they thought amongst themselves. Tsunade and Gaara both tried to explain that even though he had become the Land of Fire's responsibility, he still was an S-Rank criminal internationally. He could easily start attacking their villages without a sweat. But still, no one else wanted to help. Naruto even begged them, but again, it was no use.

Soon months passed, and there was no word of Sasuke from any village. People in the Leaf started to panic wondering if he had started building up his own army to come back to destroy their homeland. Naruto argued with them, saying that was ridiculous and Sasuke would never do that. But as time went on, people started to forget about Sasuke. Expect for Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade, and Kakashi. Everyone else started to believe Sasuke would never want to come back to the Leaf, and if he did come back, it would be to destroy it.

Sakura began growing her hair out after the War, which was a year ago now. She would always think every day about Sasuke. She wondered always where he was and if he was alright. She would use her free time to train with Tsunade to try to take her mind off him. Most of the time, it didn't always work to get him out of head.

Tsunade could see the determination in Sakura's face whenever they trained. She also saw Sakura's ninja skills rise little by little, at the end of the session. It seemed to her, her apprentice would continually get better and better every day. One day, she might be able to surpass her master, if she keeps working this hard every day.

Of course, Sakura also had the responsibility to train her genin team and go on missions with them till they were eligible to become chunin themselves. She would become stressed out from all the pressure of worrying about Sasuke, training with Tsunade, and going on missions with her team, she began to pass out from all the stress.

Tsunade knew even though Sakura never talked about Sasuke, she still had feelings for him. No matter what Tsunade said about forgetting Sasuke, Sakura would just avoided eye contact and change the subject. She began to worry about Sakura for not being able to let go of him. So she decided to ask Sakura a question. Depending on how she answered the question, might change her fate, forever.


	2. Chapter 1: The Question

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own any part of Naruto.**

**A/N: **Please excuse any grammer and spelling errors. School starts tomorrow, so I'll do my best on updating the story. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Question<strong>

Sakura knocked on the Hokage's door twice before she received a loud "come in" from the other side. Sakura opened the door and looked around the Hokage's office. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

The place was cluttered with scrolls hanging off Tsunade's desk and documents piled up around her office. She could smell sake coming from the pile of bottles by the edge of the desk. Tsunade had bags under her eyes and her hair looked like it had been unkempt for a few days at least.

Sakura thought to herself. 'Tsunade normally drinks a bottle of sake when she's stressed, but I've never seen her like this before! Her office is more of a mess then normally, and she looks like she hasn't slept for days! What could have made her so stressed out?'

But before she could ask herself any further, Tsunade interrupted her thoughts.

"Sakura, I've called you here for an urgent matter that must be attended to." Tsunade said with her arms folded together looking as serious as can be.

Sakura bowed to the Hokage and then made her way towards the cluttered desk. "Yes milady, what is it?"

Tsunade took a deep breath before she spoke. Her eyes were completely focused on Sakura's. "I have decided to ask you, if you would consider joining Anbu Black Ops."

Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Noticing this, she quickly closed her mouth before looking at the Hokage dumbfounded. "W-what? I-I'm much to honored to have been recognized by you, for such a position. B-but I'm still a ch-chunin. H-how could I move up to such a rank without even being a jo-jonin?"

Tsunade sighed before looking at her student. "I figured you would say that. But you don't fully understand what it means, do you?"

"I-I will have to work harder?" Sakura said surprised by her mentor's comment.

"Wrong! Don't you realize the opportunity I'm giving you?" Tsunade said through gritted teeth while staring out her dumbfounded student.

Sakura began twisting her hair on her finger nervously. Trying to hold eye contact with Tsunade, but she couldn't. She felt embarrassed for not being able to tell what her mentor meant by 'opportunity'.

Tsunade huffed before getting up to walk over to Sakura. Sakura was surprised to see her mentor in front of her, without realizing she moved away from her desk.

Tsunade looked Sakura directly in the eye, before she spoke in a whispered voice. "I'm giving you the chance to look for Sasuke. I know you still have feelings for him, even though you never talk about him. I can tell when we train. I asked the Advisors if they would consider having a new ninja join Anbu. When I told them I was considering you, they immediately declined my request. But after a few days, I was able to persuade them into letting you join. I told them you are my student, and I've been training with you for the past few years. You have as much strength, intelligence, and medical ninjutsu as I, there for, there should be no reason for you not to join."

Sakura was now able to hold eye contact with Tsunade after hearing that. Her eyes were even more widened from Tsunade giving her a chance to look for Sasuke, and going that far to get her into Anbu. But she still didn't understand. "H-how does being in Anbu, increase my chances of finding S-sasuke?"

Tsunade walked back to her desk and took out a bottle of sake from a drawer. She began drinking it straight from the bottle until she was satisfied. Sakura was in awe by her mentor's ability to drink when it was only two in the afternoon.

"In Anbu, you're allowed to go on more rigorist missions in different lands. You won't have to be on a team, so you can finish the mission and in the meantime, survey the area for any sign of Sasuke. Besides, I don't think going on missions to babysit or chase cats in the village is going to get you any closer to finding Sasuke. Do you?" Tsunade chuckled.

Sakura breathed in deeply and thought about it. Tsunade was right. If she joined Anbu, she would have more of a chance of finding Sasuke. She wasn't exactly getting any closer to Sasuke by running around the village looking for stray cats with her team. Then she remembered. "If I join, what will happen to my team?"

"Well, of course they will be transferred to another chunin." Tsunade said as she waved her hand in the air lazily and took another swing of sake. "There's nothing to worry about. Everything will be taken care of by me if you join. Tell you what; I'll give you by the end of the day to think about it."

"If I were to join now, when would my missions start?" Sakura asked firmly.

Tsunade smirked at her student's response. "You would still have to go through Black Ops training before you're allowed to carry out missions, Sakura. I'll guide you through it all and you should be prepared in a few months, at least"

Sakura nodded and decided. "Then I, Sakura Haruno, will accept your request to join Anbu." She got on her knees and bowed at the Hokage.

Tsunade smirked even more and walked over to her student, while carrying her bottle of sake. She extended her free hand to Sakura. "Welcome to Anbu, Sakura Haruno."


	3. Chapter 2: The Scarlet Wolf

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The "Scarlet Wolf"<strong>

Sasuke walked back to the Hidden Rain Village. He had just finished a long term mission in the Land of Snow, and was now crankier than ever.

His mission was to assassinate two S-Rank criminals and return with both mangled bodies. Having to carry both of them all the way back to the Hidden Rain, and having to deal with their smell, was worse than he could have ever imagined.

xXx

His hair was a little longer, and he wore a tattered red scarf around his neck now. He was now part of the Hidden Rain's Anbu. His nickname was the "Scarlet Wolf" because he killed like a savage, and wore a red scarf under his mask and all times. As long as he wore his mask in the village, everyone thought he was just an average Anbu patrolling the village.

No one in the Hidden Rain knew who he was, besides the Rain's Feudal Lord who he did missions for. He was the Feudal Lord's personal assassinator. If he wanted someone killed, Sasuke would do it without batting an eye. The only reason Sasuke stuck around the Feudal Lord's side, was because he wasn't a wanted criminal in the Hidden Rain. Sasuke has known the Feudal Lord before the War even began. He was part of Madara's henchmen, so they were once both after the same thing. Of course, Sasuke doesn't fully trust anyone. Even though, they were once on the same side together.

xXx

Sasuke soon found himself at the Feudal Lord's estate. He opened the door and stepped inside. The estate was decorated in a western style with two floors. The place itself wasn't too big, but none too small. It was a luxury place to live in, considering after the War the Rain lost most of its revenue.

Sasuke made his way up the stairs and turned right down the hallway. He was soon met with a luxuries cherry wood door with sapphire around the edges.

Sasuke kicked the door opened and stepped inside. He heard a gasp in front of him where the Feudal Lord sat at his desk.

The Lord was dressed in elegant blue silk robes with long, white hair tied into a loose ponytail. He was a short man who had a few wrinkles on his face. Like the rest of his estate, his office was furnished in a western style with an elegant, long blue rug leading from the door, to the front of his desk.

The Lord got up and glared at Sasuke. "Honestly, do you always have to kick my door open? There is this thing call 'knocking' or 'using the door knob' you should try it, so then you can stop making dents in my door!"

Sasuke just stared at him through his mask like he wasn't even there. "Hn." Was all Sasuke's reply, as he dropped the bodies on the rug.

The Lord looked in horror at Sasuke's action to his rug. He brought his hands up to his own head and started to pull his hair in frustration. "And now you're ruining my rug! Pick them up, hurry!" The Lord said frantically.

Sasuke glared at the Lord and balled his hands into fists. His temper rising. "You told me to bring both of them back, so I carried them all the way from Snow! Do you know what I went through? Do you even realize how much I want to kill you right now?"

The Lord looked dumbfounded at Sasuke. He had never been spoken to in that manner, ever. And he did not like one bit of it.

"Listen here you ignorant brat! I gave you a purpose! You should be _thanking_ me! You are to be my assassinator and right hand man at all times! I shall _not_ be spoken to like that ever again! Do you understand? I'm only letting you stay here without being locked up in prison, because of what that bastard Itachi s-"

But before he could finish his sentence, a kunai was at his throat and he was pushed forcefully into a wall. The Lord was shocked from what happened to him so suddenly. He always knew Sasuke had a short temper and was a skilled ninja, but he didn't realize he was this skilled. Where the Lord landed, the wall started to crack and brake. Blood began trickling down his throat.

Sasuke took off his mask before the Lord even knew what happened, and was looking at the Lord with his blood red Sharingan, in a death glare. The Lord began to smirk at Sasuke which just made the kunai pierce harder into his throat.

Sasuke couldn't control his anger and yelled loudly at the Lord. "_Never_, speak of Itachi in my presence again! YOU BASTARD!"

He then punched the Lord in the stomach and dropped him from his hold. The Lord coughed up blood as he fell to the ground. He hissed in pain and wheezed for not being able to breathe properly.

Sasuke put his mask back on, and began to walk away from the Lord towards the exit. He then stopped and turned towards the Lord, Sharingan still blazing in anger under his mask. "By the way, I'm still expecting payment for my services. And if I were you, I would pick up those bodies on the floor so they don't leave a stain on the rug, or they'll make this room smell worse than it already does."

To this, the Lord slowly nodded and coughed as he spoke. "Y-yes…Lord Uchiha."

"Hmph." Was Sasuke's response as he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving the door wide open, and the Feudal Lord awestruck.

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><p><strong>AN: I wanted to get the intro out of the way for Sasuke and Sakura. :) Now I can start the plot! Yayyy! :D I still don't know where I'm fully going to take this story, but its lots of fun to write! :D And Please Review! :D**


	4. Chapter 3: The Mission

**Disclaimer:** **Again, I do not own Naruto…sadly… :(**

**A/N: Throughout writing this, all I listened to was Diver by Nico Touches the Walls! XD Probably my favorite Naruto opening song! Anyways enjoy! :) **

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Mission<strong>

Six months have passed since Sakura handed in her application to begin her training in Anbu Black Ops. She has been asked to complete all sorts of missions from different Lands. She moved up to be a skilled assassinator in the Anbu Ranks after such a short time. She even gained a reputation as "The Lethal Blossom" in different Lands. She finished her training preparations with Tsunade in two months, and has been working for four months in Anbu. No one in the village besides Sakura, Tsunade, and the Advisors know she's been working in Anbu Black Ops all this time. Not even Naruto knows. And that's how Sakura wanted to keep it.

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><p>After another successfully completed mission, Sakura began her walk to the Hokage Tower. It was sunset already, and she just got back from the Land of Wind healing victims of a very rare and deadly poison. Luckily, she made it in time to treat everyone who was hospitalized with it.<p>

Sakura sighed as she looked up at the sunset. 'Where are you Sasuke? I've been searching for you every chance I get, but there's still no sign of you. Please, just be alright.' Sakura thought to herself as she made her way up the steps of the Hokage Tower.

As she made her way down the hallway to Tsunade's office, she noticed Shizune scurrying down the hallway in a frantic state, carrying a pile of scrolls in both arms. Sakura looked baffled as she watched Shizune run down the hallway away from Tsunade's office. This made Sakura curious, so she quickened her pace to her mentor's office.

More and more people seemed to be coming down the hallway from Tsunade's office. They all seemed to have a worried look on their faces as they quickly walked away from Tsunade's office. Without making a scene like Shizune had done.

Sakura couldn't help herself, and decided to ask the first person she saw coming down the hallway. "Excuse me, but why does it seem as if everyone is leaving Lady Tsunade's office rather quickly?" Sakura asked calmly.

The Jonin just stared at her wide-eyed before he responded frantically. "L-lady Tsunade is very upset at the moment. S-so we're all trying to get out of her site before she gets any w-worse."

Before Sakura was able to question any further, he ran as fast as he could as they both suddenly felt the floor shake and the sound of glass smashing against a wall.

"W-what was that?" Sakura said out loud as she ran as fast as she could to the Hokage's office.

People were now running down the hallway trying to get out. Sakura shoved people out of her way until she was almost faced to face with the door. Suddenly, it was kicked down by Tsunade's strength. Sakura's eyes were fully widened at what she saw. She had never seen Tsunade on this much of rampaged before. There were holes punched in the wall and the windows were shattered.

"L-lady Tsunade! P-please s-stop this! C-calm down, please!" Sakura pleaded but it was no use. Tsunade would not stop throwing punches at anything in her path until it was crushed in to a million pieces.

Sakura then blocked one of Tsunade's punches headed towards a wall. Tsunade was taken back from Sakura's sudden appearance. Anger was still written in her face, but it seemed Sakura's sudden action snapped her out of her rampage.

Tsunade pulled her fist away from Sakura's grip and started rubbing it to ease the pain. She then looked up at her student. "You have perfect timing don't you?" Tsunade asked with anger still blazing in her eyes.

At this, Sakura didn't know how to reply. So she asked her mentor a question right back at her.

"Lady Tsunade, um, may I ask, what made you so anger that you decided to almost destroy your office?" Sakura said nervously while looking at the Hokage.

Tsunade huffed and walked back to what remained of her desk. She then sat on her chair and looked slowly around the office. Her desk was split in half. Books were spilled everywhere across the office. Her bookshelves looked very similar to a pile of driftwood. She sighed and looked at her student.

"Our mission requests have been dropping at a fast rate more and more each day. Meaning, we are starting to lose our income because villages have begun to request a different village to carry out their requests. And that village is The Hidden Rain." Tsunade then paused. "If this continues, our village has a chance of going bankrupt." She finished her statement and looked at Sakura with worry and anger in her eyes.

Sakura stared at the Hokage with shock and worry. She couldn't believe other villages have begun to request Rain more than the Leaf. She then thought about why and looked down, as she slowly walked up to the Hokage's desk.

"Why have they suddenly begun to request Rain more than us all of a sudden?" Sakura asked slowly while still looking down at her feet.

Tsunade looked curiously at her student. She then thought why Sakura seemed to be hiding her face from her. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she realized. "You're thinking the reason why, is because Sasuke is in The Hidden Rain, aren't you?" Tsunade asked seriously, with her fingers intertwined to support her chin and each elbow on one side of the split desk.

Sakura immediately looked up at the Hokage when hearing Sasuke's name. Her face was etched with guilt and shock. She couldn't believe how easy her mentor could read her. She slowly nodded to the Hokage.

Tsunade sighed. "Well, there might be chance its Sasuke who's working for Rain. But I don't understand why he would want to complete missions for anyone, let alone The Hidden Rain. The information we obtained says the Anbu who's been doing Rain's missions wears an Anbu mask at all times and a scarlet, tattered scarf. He goes by the nickname 'The Scarlet Wolf' and has been able to complete every mission without a scratch."

Sakura widened her eyes for a second. "Do you know how long this person has been working for Rain?"

Tsunade stared at Sakura for a few seconds before answering. "He's been working under them for about ten months now."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. "S-so a few months after the W-war is when he joined Rain's Anbu?" Sakura asked overwhelmed.

"That is correct." Tsunade answered calmly.

Sakura was in shocked that Sasuke might be safe. But she still didn't understand why he would want to carry out missions for anyone but himself. And why didn't The Hidden Rain turn him in for being a wanted criminal if it really is him? But before Sakura could question herself any further, Tsunade interrupted her thoughts.

"By the way, I have decided to have you represent the village for your next mission. Full details are in this scroll. I would like you to read it before you leave tomorrow." Tsunade then handed Sakura the scroll with a dragon sealed on it.

"Thank you, milady." Sakura took the scroll and then bowed before she turned around to walk out. Tsunade stood up and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder before she was out the door.

"Yes milady? What is it?" Sakura asked curiously and tilted her head to the side a little.

Tsunade stared at Sakura. "This mission is no ordinary mission, Sakura." Tsunade said worriedly.

Sakura stared at her mentor. "What do you mean, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade took in a breath. "This mission is a race between you, and 'The Scarlet Wolf.' " Sakura's face was etched with shock before Tsunade continued. "It will take place in the Land of Earth. The mission is to see who can collect all of the Earth's Feudal Lord's stolen treasure, and bring in the ones who stole it first. Whoever completes the mission, will bring honor to their Land. This might be our only chance to end up on top again, Sakura. I have chosen you to represent our Land because; I have complete trust and faith in my student." Tsunade began to smile warmly and brightly at Sakura.

Sakura's eyes widened at Tsunade's last statement, but then she too smiled back at her. "When will I have to leave for the mission?" Sakura asked still smiling up at the Hokage.

Tsunade's smile dropped. "Well, in order to get there in time, you'll have to be at our village's gates before the crack of dawn."

Sakura's smile also dropped upon hearing that. "Oh, I guess I'll get ready then." Sakura turned to leave and walked out of the office.

Tsunade smiled. "It's all up to you; I know you can do it!"

Sakura popped her head back in the office. "Thank you for the encouragement and mission Lady Tsunade. I am deeply honored." She then smiled and continued walking down the hall to get ready for the mission tomorrow.

"Sakura, if anyone can complete this mission, it's you." Tsunade whispered.

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><p><strong>AN: Yayyyy! A longer chapter! :D I finally got the beginnings of the plot! Kind of a sucky ending but, I just wanted to move on to the next chapter! XD Remember to please Review! :D **


	5. Chapter 4: The Date

**Disclaimer:**** I think everyone knows I don't own Naruto, but if I did, Itachi would never have died! :'( **

**A/N: Please remember to Review and tell me what you thought! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: The "Date"<strong>

The sky was drenched in darkness when Sasuke arrived at his house. His house was located two miles outside of The Hidden Rain Village. He walked inside and sat down on his couch to relax.

The raven looked up when he heard a tapping on his window. Sasuke groaned. "What now?" He got up and walked to the window.

A black messenger bird was perched on the outside of his windowsill. He glared at the bird, instantly recognizing who it belonged to. Sasuke opened the window and raised his arm out. The bird jumped on to Sasuke's arm and chirped at him. Annoyed by the bird, he quickly untied the message from the bird and read it. Sasuke crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. "That bastard."

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><p>Sasuke stomped up the stairs of the Feudal Lord's estate, until he turned down the hallway, and was met with the door he envied so much. The raven kicked the door down and heard the voice he despised so much gasp.<p>

The Lord looked up from his desk and glared up at Sasuke. "For the _last_ time, stop _kicking_ my door-"

"SHUT UP, KAITO!" Sasuke growled.

Kaito huffed. "I thought I told you to call me _LORD _Kaito. And two, I said I would never be spoken to like that-"

"WHAT DID YOU WANT?" Sasuke was even more pissed.

Kaito was about to yell back, until he noticed Sasuke activate his Sharingan. He sighed. "You are to leave for a very important mission in The Land of Earth tomorrow. Once you get there, it will be a race between you and a Leaf Anbu Black Ops."

Sasuke huffed. "Hn. No big deal"

Kaito raised his eyebrows at Sasuke. "No big deal? This mission depends on you to be a success. Our reputation for having the best assassinator will be on the line."

Sasuke grunted. "I have been able to complete all my missions without a problem. What makes this one any different?" Sasuke began to glare at him.

Kaito sighed. "The one you're competing against has moved up quickly to be a skilled assassin. She's also a skilled medical ninja. She has even created a reputation in the Anbu Ranks and is known as, 'The Lethal Blossom'."

Sasuke's eyes opened for a fraction of a second at the name 'The Lethal Blossom'. Kaito didn't notice Sasuke's face, because he reached under his desk to grab a scroll with a dragon sealed on it. "Full details are in this scroll, and you are to leave our village's gates before dawn. Understand?"

"Hn." He said as he grabbed the scroll and untied it. The raven began to read the details until his onyx eyes widened.

Kaito looked questionably at Sasuke. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw a worried look on his face. But before he could question him, Sasuke was already gone with the scroll.

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><p>Sakura sighed. "Glad that's finally over." She said as she wiped her brow.<p>

It was now 9:00pm and she still hadn't gone to bed yet. She just finished packing and cleaning her house for her mission tomorrow. "Now, I can finally take a shower!" She said cheerfully as she grabbed her nightgown and towels.

She then heard a knock on her front door before she entered the bathroom. "Who could that be at this hour? Could it be more details on my mission tomorrow?" She wondered as she walked down her stairs to her front door.

By the time she reached her first floor she heard someone yelling and forcefully knocking on her door. "I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold on a minute!" She yelled as she ran towards the front door.

"Oi, Sakura are you home? Hellooo! Open the door!" She stopped her hand from opening the door when she heard that voice. How could she not recognize that obnoxious _loud_ voice?

"Come on, open up its important!" He continued to yell and bang on her door until she thought he was going to kick it down.

"What Naruto? What the _hell,_ could you possibly want at this hour?" She yelled as she yanked open the door.

Naruto looked at Sakura and smiled. "Want to go to Ichi Raku's with me? I just got back from a mission and I'm soooo hungry. I mean, we haven't talk to each other in a while, so thought I would ask if you wanted to come along." He continued to smile at her while he put his hands behind his head.

Sakura just looked at him dumbfounded. "Oh, thanks for the offer, but I'm not really hungry." She then proceeded to close the door, but was stopped when Naruto put his foot in the way to stop it from closing. She paused and glared up at Naruto. Her stomach growled and she turned away from him with a slight blush on her face.

He then started to laugh and smile even more. "Are you sureeee, you're not hungry, Sakura?" He snickered.

She continued to glare at him, but he still smiled. She sighed and gave in to him. "Fine, one bowl and that's it." She then grabbed her coat and started to walk out the door with him.

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><p>They soon reached Ichi Raku's but of course; Naruto can never have one bowl of Ramen, much to Sakura's distaste.<p>

Once they finished placing both their orders, Naruto turned to Sakura. "Hey, when you said one bowl, you meant for yourself right?" He asked questionably.

She sighed. "Well, I meant one for each of us so I can go home and sleep. But knowing you, you'll have more than one right?" She placed her elbows on the table to keep her head up as she turned to look at him.

Naruto laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah, I don't think one bowl will fill me up after the mission I had today." He then grinned at her.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? And what was your mission today? I mean, it can't be that great, you're still a genin you know." She teased.

Naruto's face turned red from anger and embarrassment. "I'm only a genin 'cause Grandma_ fails _at recognizing how _strong _and _awesome_ I truly am!" He huffed.

Sakura laughed. "Is that what you tell yourself before you fall asleep?"

Naruto's face got even redder. "S-shut up, Sakura! Besides, I killed Madara so Grandma owes me _big_ time. I think the least she could do is make me Hokage!" He yelled.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. So what was your mission?" She asked as she stopped herself from laughing.

He calmed down and began to smile again. "My mission was to travel to The Hidden Sand Village and deliver an important scroll to Gaara. I'll have you know, I went by _myself_."

"I bet you were so _proud_." Sakura continued to laugh and tease.

Naruto's face turned red again. "Let me finish Sakura! And along the way, I ran into a group of five rogue Sand Ninja! I kicked the crap out of them so much! Once I delivered the scroll to Gaara, I left and once I was almost here, I got ambushed by the boss of the five ninjas I beat up earlier today! I kicked his ass so hard! I can't believe he was the boss! He didn't put up more than a fight than the other ones did earlier put together!" He explained with his arms raised in the air and a big grin on his face.

Sakura began to smile at him.

"So, what's it like to be a chunin? How's your team doing? Aren't there names Kotoko, Moji, and Kagetora, or something? " Naruto asked curiously.

Sakura snapped out of her dazed. Her eyes widened for a fraction of second until she smiled half-heartedly at him. "W-well, it's no big deal. And yes, those are their names and their doing fine." She answered nervously.

Naruto looked at her concerned. "Did something happen? You don't sound like yourself Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened before she thought of an excuse. "O-oh, I'm just hungry. That's all." She smiled.

"Me too! I wished the Old Man would hurry up! How long does it take to make _two _bowls of ramen?" He complained as he tapped his fingers on the table with his chin resting in his other hand.

There was silence between the two for a few minutes.

"I wish I was chunin." He suddenly whispered thinking Sakura couldn't hear him.

Sakura turned to him. "So you'll be one step closer to becoming Hokage, right?"

Naruto quickly turned to Sakura with shock in his eyes. "Well, that's one of the reasons I guess." He sighed as he looked away from her.

Sakura looked at him with questioning eyes. "One of the reasons? I thought your goal was to become Hokage? What other reason do you have to become a chunin?"

Naruto looked up to Sakura and slowly smiled. "If I became a chunin, we would be able to talk and hang out more, like when we were genin." He smiled even more brightly at her.

Sakura smiled at him guilty. "Yeah, we could." She then turned away from him with guilt etched in her face. Luckily, before Naruto could question any further, there bowls of ramen were brought out much to Naruto's delight.

"Alright, finally I'm starving! Let's eat Sakura!" He then took a pair of chopsticks and inhaled his ramen.

"Y-yeah." She took a pair of chopsticks and started eating much more slowly compared to him.

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><p>"Oi, Old Man! I need another round! And this time, make it much more <em>quickly<em>, okay?" Naruto was going on his third bowl of ramen while Sakura was almost halfway done with her first.

Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's usual behavior. He then turned to her with a big smile and blush on his face. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, Sakura you know what this reminds me of, right?"

She continued to look at him with a questioning look. "What?" She then took another mouthful of ramen into her mouth.

Naruto giggled. "It kinda feels like were on a date." He smiled and blushed even more.

Upon hearing that Sakura coughed and spit out all her ramen onto the counter. Naruto looked at her in shock, but still continued to giggle. Her eyes were widened before she turned to him. "W-W-WHAT? IDIOT! Why would I ever, go on a _date,_ with _Y-YOU_?" She then slapped him across the face so hard he fell out of his seat and landed on the floor head first.

She stood up from her seat fuming and glaring with anger down at him. "If you ever say that again I'll _break_ your face! Do you understand?" She huffed.

Naruto looked up at her rubbing his head. "Y-yes." He slowly sat up and got back into his.

"Here's your ramen, boy. Oh, did something happen here?" The Old Man asked as he looked at Naruto, then to Sakura.

"N-no nothing at all, right, Naruto?" Sakura smiled as she turned to Naruto.

"Y-yup, everything's fine." He laughed and smiled half-heartedly, as he continued to rub the back of his head.

"O-okay, well here's your ramen then." Not believing one bit of it as he walked back to the kitchen.

Naruto sighed as he began to take his first bite out of his third bowl of ramen. "I guess this can't get any worse." He whispered.

Sakura slowly turned to him with a death glare plastered on his face. Naruto gulped and started shoving more ramen into his mouth.

"Wow, Sakura I guess size doesn't matter to you, huh?" Said a pale man as he walked in with a fake smile on his face.

Naruto coughed as he spit out his ramen and stood up. Sakura looked disgusted at Naruto. "S-S-SAI? W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"I think you know fully well what I'm talking about, dickless." He continued to smile at Naruto while he took a seat next to Sakura.

Sakura blushed and giggled while Naruto turned as red as a lobster. "I'M NOT DICKLESS YOU BASTARD!" Naruto slammed his fist on the table and glared.

"Well, either they haven't dropped yet, or your pen-"

"SHUT UP!"

"I'm only saying you should get that checked."

"H-hey Sai, why don't we drop the subject and move on to why you're here?" Sakura said trying not to laugh.

Sai began to laugh. "See? Sakura's even laughing at your small dic-"

"WHY ARE YOU HERE SAI?" Naruto said blushing even more and avoiding eye contact with Sakura at all cost.

Sai stared blankly at Sakura and Naruto. "Am I interrupting your date? Because like I said-"

This time, it was Sai's turned to get smacked. Sakura sent him flying into the tiled floor. Naruto started laughing, but then quickly stopped when he saw the look on her face. "DO YOU WANT ANOTHER?" Sakura yelled at Naruto.

Naruto quickly shook his head and looked away. Sakura huffed and sat back down.

"What's going on out there?" Shouted the Old Man. He ran out of the kitchen and was met with Sakura's deadly glare, Sai on the floor, and Naruto scared out of his mind.

Sakura looked up at him with her arms crossed. "DO _YOU, _WANT TO BE _NEXT_?" She yelled.

The Old Man quickly backed up, and ran back into the kitchen.

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><p>"Um, sorry about earlier, Sakura. Please forgive me" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head and smiled half-heartedly.<p>

"Yes, please forgive him for having a small pen-"

"DON'T START SAI!" Sakura yelled with her arms crossed.

Naruto opened his mouth to yell back at Sai, but he stopped when he saw Sakura's death glare, and quickly changed the subject. "Can I walk you back to your house?" Naruto asked nervously.

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, I'm a chunin. We don't need to be walked back to our houses at night."

Naruto stilled didn't want to give up. "Yeah, but it's late, and you never know whose on the streets at this hour. I'm just trying to look out for you, Sakura." Naruto smiled.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait, what time is it?" Sakura asked frantically.

Sai walked back into Ichi Raku and examined the wall clock. He then walked out. "It's almost close to midnight, why?" Sai asked curiously.

Sakura's eyes looked like they were going to pop out. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" She screamed as she ran down the street.

"Sakura, wait! What's the big deal? Slow down!" Naruto began to run after her until Sai grabbed his shoulder. "What the hell do you want Sai?" He asked angrily.

Sai looked at Naruto. "She probably just has a mission tomorrow and has to get up early. There's no need to stick your nose into everything, Naruto." Sai then walked the opposite way down the street, away from where Sakura ran. Leaving Naruto alone, cursing and yelling at Sai.

* * *

><p>Sakura ran home as fast as she could home. She stilled had to take a shower before she went to bed, and it was already midnight by the time she got home. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! I knew I shouldn't have gone with Naruto!" She hastily grabbed her nightgown and towels the second time that night, and ran into the shower.<p>

She quickly shampooed and rinsed then got out of the shower. She dried her hair the best she could and got dressed. She then brushed her teeth and set her alarm as she crawled into bed. Her scroll from Tsunade laid on her nightstand, unopened. "Next time I see him, he's going to be sorry." She pulled the covers over herself and turned off the light. She waited patiently, for sleep to overtake her.

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><p><strong>AN: I love Sai! Sooooooo freakin' much! XD I was glad I got to fit him in! This chapter was fun to write 'cause Naruto kept getting insulted! :D Haha! Not that I don't love Naruto, I just love seeing other characters insult him! LOL! And it was an even longer chapter! Yayyy! This was defiantly my favorite chapter write! XD Please tell me what you think about it so far by reviewing! :D**


	6. Chapter 5: The Nightmare

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto, but if I did, Sasuke and Itachi would be MINE! XD **

**A/N: Yayyy! We're going on to Chapter 5! :D This is so exciting! Please remember to review at the end! :) Oh! And I would like to thank AkisWonderland for being my very first review! :D Thank you so much!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Nightmare<strong>

Sakura was awoken by screaming and yelling outside her house. She swiftly changed into her normal clothes and ran outside to the source of the commotion. She ran and ran, until she was at the village's gates.

People were everywhere shouting and screaming at something, or someone. Sakura made her way through the crowd until she stopped. The villagers were about thirty feet around Naruto, who was in the center of the ring of people. She shouted at Naruto but it was no use. He couldn't hear her cries from the level of noise wrapped around them.

Naruto continued looking forward, not moving an inch, while watching the figure make its way to the village gates. Sakura ran up besides Naruto. "Naruto, what's going on? Why is everyone shouting? And who is that walking up to the gates?" She asked worriedly.

Naruto ignored her, as he kept watching the figure move closer, and closer towards the gates. He didn't even look at her.

"Naruto, you idiot! Answer me! PLEASE!" Sakura continued to beg but it was no use.

She was now able to see more clearly what looked like a scarlet tattered scarf and black hair. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened. "I-it c-c-couldn't be, S-s-sasuke?" The figure continued to move forward with his head down. People were still shouting by the time he reached the outside of the village gates.

Naruto then turned to Sakura. "Sakura, its Sasuke." He whispered.

Sakura was happy to hear that it really was Sasuke, but Naruto didn't seem as thrilled. Sasuke still had his head down, and he seemed to be waiting for something. The villagers were quite now, as they waited to see what happened next. After a few minutes, Sasuke lifted his head. Sakura cried out in fright at what she saw.

Sasuke now posed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. But that was not what made Sakura frightened. It was the mocking wild grin on his face. He then burst out in laughter as he through his head back.

Naruto clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, trying not to cause an outburst. Sasuke stopped laughing and looked at Naruto and Sakura. He was still grinning, as he raised his arms out before him. He then chuckled. "So, which of the two of you is planning to stop me first? Will it be the village's pathetic loser, or the annoying, weakling fangirl?" He asked sarcastically.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. He clenched his fists even more until his knuckles turned white. "Sasuke, why have you returned to The Hidden Leaf? You got your revenge, what more could you want?" Naruto asked trying not to raise his voice.

Sasuke laughed again. "Got my revenge? What are you talking about? I haven't even _started _my REVENGE!" Sasuke then ran towards Naruto as he drew out his sword.

Sakura screamed as Naruto's body fell towards the ground. Blood showered down on Sakura from the slash at Naruto's neck. But not all of Naruto was attached to him as he fell. Sakura gasped and hyperventilated at Naruto's headless body. She heard screams all around her as villagers fell helplessly by Sasuke's hand.

"S-s-sasuke, p-please." She whispered beneath her tears.

Sasuke continued attacking the villagers one by one. Their screams and Sasuke's laughter echoed in her ears.

Sasuke quickly finished killing the villagers at the gates, and moved on to the rest of the village. Sakura stood up, but fell right back down again from shaking too much. She cried out to Sasuke, but it was no use.

Sakura couldn't' take it anymore. She couldn't bear seeing anymore of the people from her beloved village die. She tried to stand again and was able to keep her balance, and ran down the street to Sasuke.

She followed the screams of the villagers, and found him waiting outside the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Her emerald eyes widened even more at what she saw around her. Blood was splattered on the walls and buildings. Limbs were ripped off in the streets. Corpses lied everywhere around her, with their eyes still open in shock.

She saw Sasuke begin to walk slowly into the flower shop. "Sasuke, wait! Please stop! Please don't kill anyone else, please!" Sakura pleaded with her hands together crying out to Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked and walked in. Sakura quickly followed him in suit, yelling. He ran up the staircase in the back of the store. Ino walked out of her room sleepily rubbing her eyes. "Who's there? And what's going on out-"

Before Ino could question any further, she was dead with a hole through her heart from Sasuke's blade. Sakura saw it all happen as soon as she ran up the stairs. She screamed when she saw Ino's baby blue eyes were still open, looking at her. Sasuke started to chuckle. He swiftly ran out of the shop by creating a giant crater in the side of the shop with his chidori. Sakura ran out of the hole to follow him and saw he was half-way towards the Hokage Tower. "No, please don't, please." She pleaded to herself as she jumped from roof top to roof top, following him at half his speed.

Sasuke ran up the steps to the Hokage Tower. Anbu jumped and attacked at him, but it was no use. Sasuke ran through all of them at once with his chidori like they were nothing. He reached the Hokage's office and kicked the door down with one try.

Tsunade was fully prepared for Sasuke to arrive. She sent him flying into a wall with a kick of her own. The wall collapsed where Sasuke's back landed against it. Blood was trickling down his chin when he stood up. He glared at Tsunade as he sent Amaterasu flames towards her. Tsunade cursed and shattered the window to escape. Sasuke ran after her still releasing Amaterasu flames. Wherever Sasuke looked, buildings would be engulfed in jet black flames. People who were still in their homes screamed in agony when they realized they were being burned alive.

Sasuke stopped running and gasped in pain. His eye was bleeding more heavily than usual after the Amaterasu. He fell to his knees pressing his hands against his eye to stop the bleeding. Tsunade realized her chance and headed straight for Sasuke. She was fifteen feet away from Sasuke when he extended his arm at her. Lightning crackled from his hand as he sent chidori straight through her chest. Tsunade was caught with it in mid-air. Blood splattered everywhere as she gasped for air. "Y-you b-bastard! Y-you will r-rot, in t-the d-depths of _h-hell, _for w-what you've d-done!" Tsunade turned to look down at Sasuke. Sasuke smirked at her. "Oh? Is that so?" He chuckled as she took her last breath.

Sakura caught up to Sasuke again, and screamed when she saw her mentor dead next to Sasuke. He slowly turned to Sakura and smirked. "Do you see, Sakura? No one can defeat me! Not even your precious Hokage or the loser! Your village needed to be cleansed fully, for they were the ones who brought the destruction to my clan! And you're next, Sakura!" He then lunged towards her laughing. "THIS IS IT, SAKURA!"

All Sakura could see, was livid red eyes.

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><p><strong>AN: Ohhhhh a cliffhanger! ;) Sorry for the sucky ending and cliffhanger, but I thought it was a good place to stop for the next scene! :) It may take a little longer for me to put up the next chapter, since I have school and don't have as much time to write during the weekdays… I'll do my best though! :) But anyway, please tell me what you think by reviewing! :D **


	7. Chapter 6: The Land of Earth

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto, again… :(**

**A/N: Please enjoy this chapter! :) And don't forget to review please! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Land of Earth<strong>

All around her was total darkness. She gasped for air and felt coldness surrounding her body. Sakura felt something cascade down her cheeks and the rest of her body. The pinkette struggled to move, but found it was useless. "Am I, dead?" She asked herself.

Suddenly, she felt her senses return to her and realized she was in her bed. Sakura was hyperventilating, and she was shivering from the cold sweat running down her body. The pinkette shot up out of bed crying. She noticed in the corner of her eye, something red and black staring brightly at her by the side of her bed. Sakura gasped and rubbed her eyes. She thought she saw a pair of Sharingan, but realized it was just her alarm clock displaying the time. The pinkette cursed when she saw it was 3:00am. She would have to get out of bed in an hour or so to be ready to leave. She pulled her legs in and embraced them, and began to sob uncontrollably.

Sakura's head shot up when she heard her alarm clock go off. She turned it off and looked at the time.

"Damn it." She muttered. It was 4:15am and she didn't get any sleep after the nightmare about Sasuke.

Sakura crawled out of bed and wiped her stale tears away. She walked into the bathroom to do her morning routine, and then changed into her Anbu uniform. The pinkette put on her traveling cloak and grabbed her backpack. She opened her front door and swiftly made her way to the village's front gates.

The early morning sky casted a grey glow in The Hidden Leaf. There was a mist wafting around the village with a slight chill in the air. Sakura lifted her hood up on her cloak as she turned to take one last look at her beloved village.

"Goodbye." The pinkette whispered, as she leapt up into the trees to begin her long journey, to The Land of Earth.

* * *

><p>Sakura reached The Land of Earth by 1:15pm. She took a deep breath once she passed through the village's gates before she headed for the Earth's Feudal Lord's palace. Sakura looked around the village and noticed many buildings appeared to be abandoned. There was graffiti everywhere and collapsed buildings. Trash was piled up in the streets with a revolting smell wafting around the village. Only a few people were out of their homes walking down the streets. The whole village had an eerie feel to her.<p>

Sakura soon found herself in front of the biggest building in the entire village. It was guarded by two guards at the front gates with a fifteen foot concrete wall surrounding it. She went up to the guards and told them who she was and proceed to the two big wide doors at the center of the structure. The pinkette opened the doors and stepped inside. The place was lavished with china and jewels everywhere. She asked a maid where the Lord was. The maid pointed towards another set of doors straight ahead. Sakura opened the doors and walked inside. She closed the door quietly and turned to face the Lord. Her heart started beating rapidly as her emerald eyes widened.

The room appeared to be a sacred shrine for all the Lords who once ruled the village. A long gold and red rug led to a gold throne at the very end of the room, where the Lord sat. The walls were painted with waterfalls cascading down mountains. A real waterfall was behind the throne, leading into a koi pond. But all of this was not what shocked her.

Right before the throne, was a man with a scarlet scarf wrapped around his neck, kneeling to the Lord. The Lord woke her from shock when he cleared his throat. The pinkette stared at the other Anbu up ahead as she made her way up to the throne and bowed. She then began to kneel also, a couple of feet away from the man next to her. She tried sensing his chakra, but he was shielding it like her. She wasn't surprised that a ninja at that high of a rank hid his chakra signature. He too, wore a mask and a cloak with a hood over his head. The only difference between their clothing was his scarlet scarf. Sakura questioned herself as to why he wore a scarf with his Anbu uniform. But she was again interrupted by the Lord before she could question herself any further.

The Lord was dressed in elegant red and gold silk robes. He was a short man who appeared to be in his late seventies with short grey hair. He had a long grey walrus mustache and droopy eyelids. The Lord looked very sickly to Sakura.

The Lord looked down at the two of them as he cleared his throat again. "Welcome to my palace. My name is Lord Riku, and I am the Feudal Lord of The Land of Earth. I would like to thank you both for taking on this mission."

Sakura and the man next to her, nodded in thanks. Both knew they shouldn't speak when in the presence of an Anbu from a different village, to be fully secretive.

Riku nodded back. "Your mission is to assassinate our village's gang leader Takamaru and his thugs. He has stolen some of the most sacred treasures from our village. Our best ninjas have gone up against him, and failed. We know Takamaru is in The Land of Earth, but we don't know his exact hideout. I am truly embarrassed to have to call upon other villages ninja, but you two are the best of the best so it shouldn't be a problem."

He paused to clear his throat and began again. "In order to complete this mission, you must return all of the treasure to us. In a nutshell, you cannot bring back only half of the treasure, while the other one has the other half."

Sakura wondered how she was going to be able to return _all _of the treasure while her opponent was after the same goal. "I guess I'll just have to be quicker at finding them before he does." She thought to herself.

"The treasures you will be looking for are a gold necklace with a sapphire, a diamond bracelet, a gold crown with rubies, a katana made out of pure silver with an amethyst handle, and a silver ring with an emerald in it. They have been passed down from Lord to Lord for the last hundreds year and are priceless to our village." He stood up from his seat.

"I have told you the requirements and everything we know about Takamaru. Now, I would like to wish you both luck, and begin!" The Lord shouted in his deep voice.

The two ninja nodded and vanished.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the short chapter, again. They should be getting longer from here on out…maybe. :P The weekend is coming up so I'll have more time to write! Yayyyyy! :D Please tell what you think about the story so far by reviewing! :D**


	8. Chapter 7: The Village

**Disclaimer****: I still do not own Naruto…but if I did, SASUKE AND SAKURA WOULD BE TOGETHER AND HAVE LITTLE UCHIHA BABIES! XD **

**A/N: Hi! :D Please enjoy this chapter! :) I would like to also give a shout out to StillDoll13 and AkisWonderland for reviewing my story! :D THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D And of course to everyone who favorite this story and to all the readers especially! THANK YOU AGAIN AND ENJOY! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: The Village<strong>

Sakura began her search on the west side of the village. The west side she noticed was more abandoned then the rest of the village, which was more likely for a hideout in her opinion.

When she walked into the district, she noticed two marble lion-like, beast statues in front of the archway. They looked extremely life-like, and she could have sworn they seemed to be watching her as she went into the district.

As she walked down the street, more and more buildings appeared to be abandoned, and some had even collapsed. The buildings were made of concrete and bricks. Dust was piling up in the shattered windows. Dirt and rocks were everywhere in the street.

She looked up, and heard a crow screech in the sky. It appeared to be slowly following her as she walked up the street.

She kept walking and noticed a slightly larger two-story building. It appeared to be the biggest building so far she's seen. She slowly walked up to it, while being on constant alert for an enemy.

The door was half-way unhinged, slowly swaying in the chilled air. The pinkette slowly stepped inside, with a kunai ready in hand to strike. What she was greeted with made her gasp quietly to herself.

Blood was splattered on the walls and floor. Sakura looked closely and noticed it was dried up, probably from a few weeks or months ago. She kept walking and appeared to be in what used to be the living room. Furniture was over turned, and muddy footprints were everywhere on the already filthy floor. There were holes and cracks in the walls and broken china shattered. It looked like to Sakura, someone was here looking for something, and they ended up having to spill blood.

Then, something white caught her eye by the couch. She moved closer to it and saw they were human bones. The bones looked like a young child's. A chill went down Sakura's spine as she examined the bones and noticed canine bites on them. On the floor around the bones were huge paw prints in blood. She continued to search the living room until she heard a loud cry behind her.

The pinkette turned her head swiftly to the noise.

A crow was perched on the windowsill tilting its head, watching her. Surprised at the crow, she slowly walked up to it. She extended her hand to it and it screeched while it flew out the door. Intrigued by the crow, Sakura decided to follow it.

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><p>The crow continued to lead her through the abandoned district until it flew on a building's roof and cawed. The building was small and was built from stones. Cracks were on the side off the building, and the building itself looked lopsided to her. The door was swinging on its hinges in the wind. She took out a kunai and slowly walked in.<p>

She was surprised when she heard a loud gasp inside. An old lady came up to her smiling.

"Welcome! It's been so long since I've had costumers! Please feel free to look around!" The old lady said as she opened her arms to show Sakura around the little store.

The old lady was short with a wrinkly face. She had hair as white as snow in a bon on top of her head. She wore an old blue, filthy kimono with tears in it.

Sakura was taken aback by the old lady, and instead she examined the shop by herself to look for clues. She went up to one of the shelves and examined the small figurines. They were beautiful dragon and tiger figurines. She looked at the price and her mouth nearly dropped. She stood there for a moment in shock with the figurine in her hand. The old lady hurriedly came back noticing this.

"I know my prices are a bit high, but I don't get to many customers anymore because of our village's gang leader, Takamaru. But the qualities of my products match with the price!" She said quickly in a gentle voice, as she rubbed her palms together.

All of a sudden, Sakura and the old lady turned their heads when they heard someone yelling outside the shop. Sakura took out a kunai and ran outside, leaving the old lady in shock.

A thug was beating up an old street vendor. The old man was on the ground as the thug continued to punch him. The old lady came outside after Sakura and stopped with her mouth open in shock.

"It's one of Takamaru's men! It's one of Takamaru's men! Quick! Run away!" She yelled to Sakura as she ran back inside.

This caught the attention of the thug and he swiftly turned to Sakura.

The thug was big and looked stupid to Sakura. He had a fat face and small beady eyes. He was bald and his clothing was stained with blood.

Sakura walked up to him slowly.

"Excuse me, but can you please stop hurting this old man?" She said sweetly with a smile under her mask.

The thug snickered. "And if I don't? What are you going to do about it, huh?" He said as he chuckled.

Sakura giggled as she raised her arm.

The thug looked curiously at Sakura.

Before he even knew what happened, he was on the ground with the wind knocked out of him.

Sakura leaned over and picked him up by the neck, as she placed a kunai at his throat. Blood began slowly trickling down the thug's neck as he gasped for air.

The old man got up and ran away from the scene thanking Sakura.

Sakura nodded in return to the old man, and then turned her attention back to the thug. "I would like to know where Takamaru's hideout is. Do you know where it is?" She said angrily as she pressed the kunai more to his throat.

He gasped. "I-its t-to the n-n-north of h-here." He said nervously as he tried to regain his breath.

Sakura nodded. "And where to the north is it exactly?" She asked seriously.

The thug looked up into Sakura's eyes. "It's-" The crow began to screech loudly as a barrage of kunai were thrown towards Sakura.

Sakura let go of the thug, as she dodged the kunai by jumping on top of a building. The crow dodged them too. She scanned the area on top of the building to see where the kunai could have come from. But there was no one in sight.

The crow looked pissed, and it appeared as if it had red eyes full of rage. It was flying around screeching and looking everywhere to see where the person who threw the kunai could be. But it too, saw no one insight and flew back towards Sakura.

The pinkette jumped down to where the thug was. Kunai were pierced in his body everywhere. He was lying down in a pool of blood, dead.

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><p>Sasuke started his search in the northern area of The Land of Earth. With his past experiences, he realized that hideouts are in rogued and wilderness terrain. The northern area was luxuriant with forests and jagged mountains. Streams were blissfully cascading down rocky hilltops. Birds were chirping happily all around him. Normal humans wouldn't have been able to get this deep within the forest. Which made it more likely to Sasuke; they would be hiding in terrain like this.<p>

Sasuke scanned the area as he moved through the thick foliage. He kept jumping through the trees until he saw something white by the river.

Sasuke jumped down from the trees and landed next to it. He noticed they were bones from a child. The raven crouched down to examine them and saw they had canine bites on them. He stared blankly at them as he realized they were wolf bite marks.

Sasuke wondered why a child would be out here this far and let alone, how it got here. Sasuke raised his head to the river as he saw something jump from the water.

A huge gray wolf lunged towards him with what looked like a gold necklace with a sapphire dangling around its neck. Its jaws were open showing Sasuke its fangs dripping in blood.

Sasuke jumped up to dodge the attack and landed in a tree. He then heard something whistling in the wind and turned to see a kunai headed towards him. He took out his sword and blocked the kunai with it. Sasuke's Sharingan were blazing as he looked everywhere to see where the attack came from.

He then saw a huge white wolf jump from the opposite tree towards him, with a pouch full of kunai.

Sasuke ran towards it with his sword in hand ready to slice. He noticed what looked like a diamond bracelet wrapped around its front paw. The wolf opened its mouth, and a strong gust of wind came out of its mouth.

The raven gasped when his back was slammed back into the tree he came from by the gust. Sasuke's mask fell off from the impact as he slid down the tree and landed on a branch.

The white wolf charged towards him with its front talons and fangs barred. Sasuke still had his sword in hand, and was able to shift it in front of him at the last second.

The wolf howled in pain as the sword went right through its heart. It flailed its legs at the last second before it died, and slashed open Sasuke's left shoulder.

Sasuke screamed in agony as the muscles tore open.

The wolf slid off his blade and landed on the cold forest floor. He pressed his right hand on to his left shoulder to stop the blood from pouring out too much. The gray wolf saw Sasuke let down his guard and jumped up to him.

"Damn it!" Sasuke growled as he shot out a fireball from his mouth towards the wolf.

The wolf opened its mouth and a pistol of water shot at the fireball, extinguishing the flames.

"What?" Sasuke gasped as his onyx eyes widened in shock.

Sasuke jumped from the tree branch and landed on the forest floor, dodging the water pistol. The tree fell from the impact of the water and shook the ground. The wolf jumped down from the fallen tree and landed on the ground running towards Sasuke, again. Sasuke took out his shuriken and sent a barrage of them towards the white wolf. The wolf dodged them all in the air by jumping.

Sasuke smirked.

He sent chidori right through the shuriken, extending all of the shuriken lengths. The wolf didn't have enough time to react, and was pierced by the shuriken. Blood showered down from the wolf as it howled in pain. It landed on the forest floor like the one before it.

Sasuke sighed in relief as he walked over to the dead wolves, still holding his shoulder. He reached down to take the gold necklace with the sapphire around the grey wolf's neck.

Suddenly, he heard a deep howl and the ground began to shake. He looked up to see a big black wolf with red eyes and a scar on its right eyelid, extending to its mouth. This wolf was larger than the other two, and it howled in rage as it raced towards Sasuke.

Trees began falling down and the ground was shaking so much it began to split in some places.

"Damn it!" Sasuke growled.

Sasuke had nowhere else to go, but forward.

He took out his sword again and sent chidori through it. Sasuke charged right for the wolf once it was in reach of his blade.

The wolf noticed this and dodged to the left making the sword miss its vital spot. By doing this the blade still hit him, but he was also able to slash at Sasuke's chest.

Blood poured out of the two of them, as they both fell down gasping and screaming in pain. An open gash was made on the side of the wolf, extending from its neck to its hind legs. Sasuke had three claw marks on his chest, and were gushing with dark red blood.

Sasuke started coughing up blood as he tried to breathe. As he looked down at his wound, he was thankful the wolf missed tearing his scarf. He pressed his left hand against his chest, as he tightened the grip on his sword.

The wolf tried standing up but fell down and cried in pain. Sasuke slowly stood up panting and coughing. He extended his sword at the wolf, and then drove it right through its skull. He heard a loud crack from the skull breaking. There was a pool of blood within seconds under the remains of the wolf's head.

Sasuke fell down by the wolf panting, and saw an emerald ring on one of its claws. He reached over slightly and slid it off the claw. He felt a rush of power surge within him when he held the ring.

"Hn." He said as he rolled it around in his palm.

He slowly got up and placed the ring in his pouch for safe keeping. The raven shuffled over to the other two wolves and took off their jewelry too. When he held the necklace and bracelet, he felt even stronger than before. But once he put them in his pouch, he felt the power surge distinguish.

When he held them, his wounds didn't heal themselves, so they must only be used for increasing attack damaged he thought. But it seemed each item of jewelry made him feel stronger in a different way.

When he held the ring, it felt like he gained strength in Earth-style moves. The necklace made him feel strength in Water-style moves. And the bracelet, Wind-style moves.

This was probably how the grey wolf was able to use Water Jutsu. The white wolf was able to use Wind Jutsu. While the black wolf, Earth Jutsu.

Once he collected all the jewelry, he slowly walked over to his mask, while pressing his right hand against his chest. He reached down and picked up the mask. He noticed there was a crack on the side of it. Sasuke sat down on the ground with it beside him.

His wounds were still pouring with blood, and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. He reached into his backpack and took out a roll of gauze. Sasuke took off his torn shirt and wrapped the gauze around his shoulder and chest.

He looked up and saw the sun was setting.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bird screeching. It was a hawk and it appeared to be circling him. He glared up at the hawk.

He grabbed his mask and tied it on, as he slowly got up and walked towards the sunset.

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><p><strong>AN: This chapter was a lot of fun to write! :) While typing this I was watching some of the classic episodes of Naruto before Sasuke left :'( WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE SASUKE? D: WHY? :( Anyway…please tell me what you thought by reviewing! :D**


	9. Chapter 8: The Forest

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto…but if I did, Sasuke and Sakura would have been married a loooooooooong time ago! XD **

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG IT'S TAKEN ME TO UPDATE! :( I've been sick since Saturday night and have been in bed for a few days. And I've had WAY too much homework this past week. Every night we get a packet of FIVE worksheets which are back-to-back in Spanish and we have to translate them! :( It takes me at LEAST one hour EVERY NIGHT just to do that let alone all the other homework I have to do each night! Anyway, enough of my ranting and here's Chapter 8! I'm very sorry about the delay! Please remember to review at the end and enjoy! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Forest<strong>

Sakura had walked miles since she left the Hidden Leaf now, and she was _exhausted. _

She had been walking through thick foliage in the northern area of The Land of Earth for a few hours now. The sun was starting to set, and she was getting hungry.

She continued walking until she heard the sound of a waterfall up ahead. The pinkette decided to head towards it for some fresh water to drink, and set up camp.

Sakura kept walking and saw a river. She crouched by the river and took out an empty bottle from her backpack. She dipped the bottle in the water and drank from it. Once she was satisfied, she got up and kept walking along the edge of the river.

She soon made it to the edge of the waterfall and sat down on a log.

"Finally." She sighed.

The crow sat up on a tree branch above her, resting too.

Sakura took out her sleeping bag and unrolled it. She then began to collect small sticks and set them in a pile with stones around it.

"Now I just have to light the fire and I can have some food!" She said excitedly as her stomach growled.

Sakura reached into her backpack to find her box of matches. She emptied her backpack on to the ground after a few seconds of looking. The crow looked curiously at Sakura.

"Damn it!" She yelled when she examined the contents on the ground.

She forgot to pack them before she left her house, and now she'll have to look for flint to light the fire. The sun was already beginning to set, and she would have trouble seeing in an hour or so.

"How could I forget to pack matches?" She growled, as she put the items back in her backpack.

"If only I knew any Fire-style Jutsu. Then I would never have a problem like this." She whined as she walked away from her camp with the crow slowly following her.

* * *

><p>Sakura had been searching for twenty minutes now, and their still was no sign of any flint. Her stomach was growling obnoxiously now and she couldn't stand it.<p>

"Why _me_?" She whined as she rubbed her stomach.

The crow landed on her shoulder to take a short rest. Sakura smiled under her mask as she turned to look at the bird.

Sakura kept walking until she saw something hairy covered in blood up ahead. She ran up to it and saw a huge white wolf with a hole in its chest. She gasped at the size of the wolf. Sakura looked around and saw footprints in blood around the area. She followed them and saw a grey wolf of the same size. A few yards away she saw an even bigger black wolf. She cringed when she saw its skull was shattered.

"Who could have been able to take on all three wolves at once?" She said breathlessly.

The blood still looked fresh. She took her right glove off and placed it in the wolf's blood. Her emerald eyes widened when she felt it was still warm.

"N-no way, it's still w-warm. T-this was d-done about a half-hour ago, at l-least." She gasped as she looked at her hand covered in blood.

She turned her head away from her hand when she smelt a fire burning not far from where she was. Sakura looked up into the grey sky and saw smoke coming from the direction of her camp.

"What?" She gasped and ran towards her camp.

* * *

><p>Sakura ran through the thick foliage with the crow still on her shoulder, all the way back. It was getting difficult to see, so she had to use her nose to find her camp. She swiftly moved between the trees until she saw something glowing up ahead.<p>

Her hands were on her knees and she was panting when she finally reached it. She looked up and was completely shocked.

"W-what? W-who c-c-could of d-done t-this?" She panted when she saw her fire burning vividly in front of her.

Sakura tried her best to look around for who could of done this, but gave up when she couldn't see anymore. She sat down by the fire and saw a pile of wood stacked up by her sleeping bag. She put a piece of wood in the fire and watched as it burned.

"Thank you, whoever did this." She whispered with her eyes closed.

Sakura then thought maybe the one who killed the wolves did this and shivered at the thought.

The pinkette took of her mask and put it to the side. She opened up her backpack and took out a can of soup and a small pot. She placed the pot over the fire and poured the soup in it. As she waited for the soup to boil, she took out a small loaf of bread and broke it into pieces to snack on. She turned her head and noticed the crow was still on her shoulder. Sakura smiled and tore a piece of bread just for him. The crow looked curiously at Sakura, but then started to nibble on the bread.

"Thank you, for warning me about the kunai earlier, and leading me around today." She said gently with a smile on her face to the crow.

The crow appeared to have nodded slightly to Sakura. Her eyes widened for a second and then she smiled again.

"You remind me of someone important to me." She whispered as she turned her attention to the fire.

The crow stared blankly at Sakura as she poured the hot soup into a small bowl. She took out a spoon and started eating happily.

"It's delicious!" She said cheerfully as she swallowed the spoonful of soup.

Sakura continued eating the soup until it was all gone. She put another log on the fire as she walked towards the river to clean her dishes. She came back and noticed the crow was sitting on her sleeping bag, waiting for her.

She smiled and walked over to her sleeping bag to go to sleep. Sakura laid down in the sleeping bag and closed her eyes. The crow was watching her sleep with what looked like bright, red eyes.

Little did she know, someone else with red eyes was watching her close by.

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><p>Sakura turned over and was awoken by the dawn light shining above her eyelids. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. The pinkette stretched and rubbed her eyes.<p>

"I feel a lot better now." She yawned.

Sakura then remembered the previous night. She sighed when she thought about her nightmare. She looked over and saw the crow staring blankly at her.

"You know, we need to think of a name for you." She giggled.

Sakura placed her hand on her chin and began to stare intensely at the crow. The crow tilted its head and continued to look into Sakura's emerald eyes.

She snapped her fingers. "I got it! How about Tadashi? Does that seem okay?" She asked cheerfully.

The crow continued to stare blankly at Sakura. Sakura sighed.

"You really do remind me of one of my old teammates. He would always stare blankly at everything, showing no sign of any emotion." She looked down at her lap when she finished the last part.

Tadashi hopped into her lap and looked up at Sakura. Sakura's eyes widened and then soften as she looked down at Tadashi.

"Maybe not." She giggled as she scratched the top of Tadashi's head.

Tadashi tilted his head as she continued to scratch it.

Sakura stopped and opened her backpack to take out an apple. She cut it into pieces with her chakra and gave a small piece to Tadashi. Tadashi stared at it, and then began nibbling the piece.

The pinkette finished eating her breakfast and walked over to the river with her towel, and Tadashi on her shoulder. She took off her boots and gloves and then began unbuttoning her pants. Tadashi started flailing and squawking on her shoulder, and flew back to the camp.

"That's interesting." Sakura said curiously as she watched Tadashi fly back to the camp.

She finished taking off her clothes, and placed them on a tree branch close by with her towel. Sakura walked into the chilled water slowly.

"I wish it was warmer, but it's better than nothing I guess!" Sakura said shivering.

She dunked her head under the cold water to wash her face and long hair. Sakura then lifted her head to the surface to breathe.

"It's freezing!" She said as she hugged her shoulders.

She slowly walked out of the water and up to the tree branch with her towel and clothes hanging off of. The pinkette grabbed the towel and dried herself off. Once she finished drying her body, she wrapped her hair up in the towel and put on her clothes.

The pinkette walked back to the camp and saw Tadashi sitting on her sleeping bag. She walked up to her sleeping bag and placed Tadashi to the side, gently. Sakura rolled up her sleeping bag and extinguished the already burnt out fire with her water bottle, just in case. She unrolled her towel and let her hair fall down. Sakura picked up her mask and tied it on.

She set out again and continued walking to the north, with Tadashi flying beside her.

* * *

><p>Sakura sighed. "I've been running for hours and I still haven't seen any sign of a hideout, or any of his men."<p>

She had been running through the trees scanning the area for hours with no rest. She looked up ahead and saw the terrain was becoming steeper. The pinkette jumped higher up in the trees until she reached the top of the tallest one.

"Wow! Look at that view!" Sakura said as she put her hand on her forehead to block the sun from her eyes.

All around her for miles was trees and mountains. The trees were all close together and fully green. She looked to the right and a big valley caught her eye. It looked like a glacier once moved through it thousands of years ago. The whole valley was filled with big rocks and dirt. It looked very jagged to her this far high up. She couldn't even see how deep it was.

Sakura jumped down from the tree and landed on a log for a quick break. She sighed and thought maybe the thug wasn't one of Takamaru's men, or he just lied to her.

"I feel like I'm getting nowhere. There's no sign of any human life out here. And even if his hideout is out here, why would he want it this far out anyway?" Sakura said as she folded her arms together.

Tadashi started squawking at Sakura. Sakura turned around and was met with a kunai forced into the back of her arm. The kunai missed the back of her neck by inches. She fell to the ground screaming in pain and cursed herself for not noticing the enemy in time.

Tadashi's eyes were burning red with anger at the enemy.

The enemy was an averaged height man with a short, flat brown hair. His clothes were a lot cleaner than the thug Sakura met yesterday. He appeared to be a rogue ninja. He had bright blue eyes and wore a crazy grin on his face as he laughed.

"So you're one of the ones that old geezer Riku sent to regain his treasure? Wow, you couldn't even tell I was tailing you for a while now! And you call yourself the best assassin in the Leaf Village? I guess the standards are pretty low now!" He mocked as he took out his sword and lunged toward her.

Sakura rolled on the ground to dodge the sword missing her neck by inches. Tadashi flew like lightning towards him with his talons and beak aimed for his head. The thug didn't notice him in time and was pecked and clawed by Tadashi.

"STUPID BIRD!" The thug yelled and tried to swing his sword at Tadashi repeatedly but missed every time.

Sakura thanked Tadashi in her head and slowly got up while holding her right arm. She tried to release her green chakra to heal herself, but realized it wasn't responding.

Her emerald eyes widened and blood rapidly cascaded down her arm. "What the hell?" Sakura thought angrily.

"DAMN IT; GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" The thug screeched as blood fell to the ground.

Sakura looked up from her arm and was shocked at the damage Tadashi did to him.

Parts of his flesh were peeling and dripping with blood on his face. Claw marks ripped his clothing to shreds with blood gashes appearing under his shirt. A small pool of blood was appearing beneath him. He was screaming and flailing in rage as Tadashi ripped and tore at him as fast as lightning.

Sakura was breathing heavily at the pain she was in. She was completely impressed with how well of a fighter Tadashi was, and how loyal he was to her. She continued to try and release her chakra but nothing would happen. It appeared it was getting worse the more she tried.

"Damn it." Sakura breathed out in shallow breaths.

She was starting to get light headed and fell to the ground. Her vision was blurry and she could still hear the thug screaming in agony and his sword slicing in the air. Sweat was falling down her face causing her vision to blurrier more. She tried opening her eyes more to see and could have sworn she saw black flames engulf the thug. Blood was sprayed on her and she cringed when she heard a sword slice the thug's head off. She heard the head hit the ground not far from her. She then heard another loud thud hit the ground next to her still in flames. She was hyperventilating now, and could barely see anything through her eyelids.

The last thing she saw was someone with black hair and Tadashi on their shoulder, walking towards her with sword in hand, and something bright red around their neck.

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><p><strong>AN: Ohhhh the cliffhangers! :P What do you think might/is happening in the story? ;) Let me know by reviewing please! :)**


	10. Chapter 9: The Rescue

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto, but if I did it wouldn't have useless flashbacks about what happened three pages ago. :/ **_**And**_** Sakura would be with Sasuke and he would come back to the village! :D **

**A/N: Yay! Chapter 9! :D Please tell me what you think by reviewing! I'm really sorry for not being able to update sooner. I mostly have time only to write on the weekends now because of school. :( I WANT IT TO BE SUMMER BREAK AGAIN! :'( Anyway, enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 9: The Rescue **

Warmth surrounded her body. She felt something constricting around her wounded arm. Her senses were returning to her slowly. She heard something crackling next to her and smelt smoke. The pinkette slowly opened her jade eyes and turned over to the source of warmth. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

A brilliant, bright fire was burning next to her as she lay. A small bowl of tomato soup was by her head. Tadashi was next to the bowl of soup and stared at her with contemplating eyes. She looked farther into his eyes and noticed he had a pair of Sharingan for eyes.

Her emerald eyes were fully widened and awake now. "What the hell? Wait, are you-" She said slowly as she sat up and lifted her hand towards Tadashi. "Sasuke?" She whispered aghast.

Tadashi's Sharingan eyes slightly widened, and then he tilted his head at her.

"That would explain how you've been leading me around and acting like him. Wait, but why would he lead me around? Let alone save my life from that thug? I'm the enemy, and his old annoying teammate." She sighed and tears filled her eyes.

She brought her hand up to her face to wipe away her tears. Tadashi flew up and landed on her wrist. Her bright, emerald eyes gazed at him bewildered. He stared at her with sad eyes and lifted his wing to her face. He wiped away her tears gently with the edges of his wing. His eyes soften when he looked into her beautiful, shocked eyes.

Sakura's looked at him disbelieving, and then slowly began to smile and giggle at him. "Thanks Tadashi…or Sasuke." She winked.

He stared blankly at her with fixated eyes.

"All you're missing is the 'Hn'." She laughed and placed her wrist on the ground for him to hop off.

"Thank you for fending off that thug earlier, Tadashi. If you weren't there I would have been dead. And if it wasn't for Sasuke, I defiantly would have died of blood lost. At least, I think it was Sasuke's shoulder you were on. I have a feeling it was." She smiled and placed her hand on her stomach as it growled.

"Whoever did this for me, I owe them my life." She said as she picked up the bowl of tomato soup.

Tadashi stared at her contently, as she did the same.

"Come here Tadashi, you need some food too." She said happily and placed the bowl on the ground.

Tadashi backed away from the bowl.

"Please Tadashi, for me?" She asked sweetly.

Tadashi slowly moved towards the bowl and took a small sip.

Sakura sighed. "You're doing this so I don't feel hungry later, aren't you?"

The crow continued to stare at her.

"Fine." She sighed and took a spoonful of soup into her mouth.

Her eyes widened in delight. "It's delicious!" She said amazed and continued eating swiftly.

Tadashi stared at her contently as she ate. Once she was done, she placed the empty bowl to the side and sighed. She turned to her bandaged arm and stared at it. The pinkette slowly untied the gauze on her arm. She looked at her deep wound and sighed.

The muscles were torn deeply and dark, dried blood was all around it. She placed her hand above the wound with her green chakra emitting from it. She pressed her hand on the wound and began healing the torn tissue. She lifted her arm after a few seconds and gazed at her healed arm. There was still a scar from where the kunai went in, but other than that it looked like nothing happened. She turned her attention to the sky and saw it was about 4pm.

She sighed and slowly got up. "Let's go Tadashi, we wasted enough time."

Tadashi flew on her shoulder and she smiled. She picked up her mask and tied it on. She reached over into her backpack and put out the fire with her water bottle. The pinkette washed the dishes lazily and placed them in her backpack.

Once she was ready, she headed towards the valley up ahead.

xXx

"It didn't seem that far earlier!" She whined. "I feel like I've been seeing the same trees over and over again!"

She stopped and froze at her last sentence. The pinkette took out a kunai and flung it at the object whistling towards her. A smoke bomb exploded and she quickly jumped up to the tree above her. Shuriken were thrown at her through the fog and she countered back with her own shuriken.

Tadashi squawked, and she looked over to see a man jump on the branch through the fog.

"Hey, you're a long way from home aren't ya?" He smirked and took out an amethyst katana handle from its sheath at his waist. Blue lightning was crackling from it.

He appeared in his early twenties and had long, dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail. He had dark blue eyes, and wore a torn, blood smeared, Anbu uniform with no vest. He didn't have a mask either.

She gazed at the katana aghast and quickly jumped up to the next branch to miss the swing. The katana hit the trunk of the tree and made a gash almost halfway through it. The tree wobbled and shook for a moment before it went back to normal.

"Oh no, you don't!" The man smirked and forced the katana straight down through the branch he was on.

Sakura looked down and saw blue lightning erupting everywhere around the man. She heard crackling all around her, and then felt electricity go through the soles of her feet.

"Shit!" She screeched and tried to jump off the electrified branch but realized she was paralyzed.

The man laughed below her as he removed the sword and jumped up to her. "Now I got you!" He said madly.

Sakura closed her eyes and sent her chakra all throughout her body as fast as she could. She opened her emerald eyes and smirked once she was done. Blue chakra emitted from her fist, and she punched the man in the face when he was within inches from her.

He shot to the ground like a rocket and tumbled until he stopped and hit his back against a rock. Blood cascaded down his chin and he gasped trying to regain his breath. He then smirked up at her.

"What, wait, how can you still be a-alive?" She said flabbergasted.

He chuckled. "I wasn't named Takamaru's right hand man for nothing." He smirked.

Anger went through Sakura's veins as she tightened her fist. "Where _is _he?" She said through gritted teeth.

The man smirked again. "And why should I tell you? So you can assassinate my boss? What's a little girl like you gonna do about it if I don't, huh? " He laughed and coughed up blood.

"I'm going to _kill _you!" Sakura screamed as she ran towards him with her fist in the air.

The man used his sword to guard, and the force of Sakura's punch made him go through the rock and stop against a tree twenty-five feet away.

Sakura was fuming with anger and breathing heavily from the strength she used.

"Well I guess you do have some strength, huh?" He chuckled and slowly got up.

Sakura gritted her teeth and blue chakra glowed from her fist again.

"I'll give you a hint, his hideout is close by from here." He smirked as he wiped his chin and brushed himself off. "I mean, why else would you be trapped in a genjutsu and can't move closer to the valley up ahead?" He raised his arms and chuckled.

"So you're saying his hideout is in the valley?" Sakura said fuming.

"Hmm, maybe." He said teasingly and snickered.

Sakura lunged at him with her fist ready. He ran away from her towards the valley.

Sakura's eyes filled with rage. "No you don't!" She yelled and punched the ground with her fist.

The ground shook madly as it split in half running towards the man. Trees fell down as the fissure split them in half. The man continued running through the foliage with the quake on his tail until it stopped.

"Damn it!" Sakura cursed and ran after him evading the falling trees.

Tadashi flew after her as fast as he could. He started screeching loudly to make her stop, but she ignored him.

Every step she took made him move farther and farther away from her. The valley appeared as if it was up ahead. She saw him turn around and smirked at her with his index and middle finger together making the 'release' hand sign. Her eyes widened realizing she was still in the genjutsu.

"RELEASE!" The man shouted, laughing.

The ground beneath her feet slowly evaporated away. She looked down, and panic went through her veins as her emerald eyes widened fully.

She was running on air, above the gorge of the valley.

Her heart felt like it stopped as she slowly freefell into the giant abyss. She screamed her lungs out creating echoes throughout the forest. Around her everything seemed to be moving slowly. The only thing she could hear was the blood pounding in her ears.

She looked up into the sky, and saw the man riding a giant hawk straight down to the bottom of the valley. He passed her and smirked at his victory.

Sakura looked up and saw Tadashi flying above the valley towards her screeching madly. She smiled at him gently. "Thank you, Tadashi." She whispered as she closed her eyes and a tear slid out.

"SAKURA!"

The panic sounding scream echoed all around her as she continued to fall.

She opened her tearstained eyes and gasped. "S-Sa-Sasuke?" She began to cry more at the thought of him.

She was more than halfway to the bottom now. The echoing scream was dying away but could still be heard.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, I failed you. I guess you win, Sasuke." She whispered as more tears fell down and she closed her eyes.

She felt a gust of wind and a bird screech above her. She quickly opened her eyes and saw something black flying in the sky blocking the sun from her eyes. It soared straight down the gorge with a rider standing on its back. Sakura examined the bird more and realized she's seen it before.

The giant bird flew as fast it could to her with the rider's arms wide open, ready to catch her. She squinted trying to look at the rider's face, but couldn't with the sun shining in her eyes.

The rider caught her in his arms and she looked up at him with gigantic eyes.

"N-no w-w-way, h-how c-could you b-be here?" She asked aghast as he looked down at her with irritation in his black eyes.

The giant bird flapped its wings straight up to soften the landing on the bottom of the abyss. The black haired man jumped off the bird with Sakura still in his arms. He put Sakura down and her legs gave out causing her to fall toward the ground. He caught her by the wrist and kept her steady from falling.

"How can someone from Anbu Black Ops forget they were in a genjutsu, let alone not even try to release it, Sakura?" The black haired man said disapprovingly as he let go of her wrist and took of her mask.

Sakura's mouth opened ajar and her eyes popped out from those words. "W-w-wait, h-how d-did y-you k-know I'm in t-the A-Anbu, S-Sai?" Sakura asked bewildered as her legs started to tremble.

She stopped trembling once Tadashi landed softly on her shoulder. She looked at him amazed and smiled. "You were very brave Tadashi, thank you."

Tadashi's Sharingan eyes soften as he gazed at her unscathed face.

Sai scratched the giant bird's head as he stared blankly at her and ignored Tadashi. "Well, no one else has pink hair, Sakura. So it's kind of obvious when you're not wearing anything with a hood on, like now for example." He said blankly causing her to sigh from his bluntness and look at her pink hair.

"And two, before Lady Tsunade had her massive tantrum the other day, I was in her office giving her my mission report. I noticed a scroll on her desk with your profile and you were listed under the Anbu." He paused and watched her as she fidgeted looking at the ground. "Above your name was 'Top-Secret' and I noticed Sasuke was also on the scroll for the same mission." He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at his last sentence.

Tadashi's Sharingan eyes widened for a second catching Sai's attention.

Sakura looked up at him even more shocked than she was before and turned pale.

Sai stared at Tadashi and then frowned; he then looked back to Sakura. "You didn't read the scroll Lady Tsunade gave you, did you?" He asked blankly as he moved away from the giant bird towards her.

The pinkette stared at him wide-eyed. "Um, no I didn't." She whispered as she looked towards the ground.

Sai continued to stare as he crossed his arms. "What kind of ninja doesn't read the mission details _before_ going on the mission? I guess I was right when I found you at Ichiraku the other night." He sighed and tilted his head as stared at the ground.

Sakura looked up. "Wait, what do you mean you were right the other night? What don't I know?" She asked concerned.

Sai looked up and stared at her for a few moments. "All those questions can be answered if you read your scroll. Do you have it with you at least?"

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Sakura asked with her eyes narrowed and her temper rising.

Sai sighed. "It's better if you found out yourself." He said with sunken eyes averting her gaze.

Sakura's mouth opened ajar as she stared at him confused. She reached over and placed her backpack on the ground and started rummaging through it. Sai looked over at her with his arms folded.

"Damn it! I left the scroll on my nightstand at home!" She said angrily as she shoved the items back into their proper place.

She looked up at Sai. "Can you at least tell me why you followed me?" She asked questionably and stood up.

Sai stared at her for a few moments and then sighed in defeat. "I followed you to protect you from Sasuke." He said with sadness in his eyes.

Tadashi's glared at Sai and he glared right back; now knowing fully well why the bird has Sharingan eyes.

Sakura looked at Sai confused with concern in her eyes. "Why would you need to protect me from S-Sasuke?" She fidgeted as she said his name.

Sai looked at her blankly. "An S-Rank international rogue ninja is on the same 'mission' as you." He said with hidden anger in his voice as he looked at Tadashi.

"I followed you, because I was concerned for you when I read part of your mission details. I thought comrades were supposed to look out for one another, at least that's what Naruto says." He smiled slightly with concern in his eyes.

Sakura gently smiled back.

"Wait, Naruto doesn't know I'm in the Anbu right?" She asked in a panic.

"Not unless you told him, speaking of which, why didn't you tell us you were in the Anbu?" He asked with his eyes narrowed and arms folded.

Sakura fidgeted. "W-well, I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want you to worry about me anymore." She said as she looked at the ground.

"I can understand why you didn't tell Naruto, but why not me? I'm in the Anbu too you know. And how come you're in the Anbu? You're a chunin with your own team to look after." He said with questioning eyes as he tilted his head slightly.

Sakura slowly looked up at Sai and stared at him for words to explain. "I didn't want anyone but Lady Tsunade to know. I knew if I told Naruto, he would want to know why and it would be a disaster. I didn't want to keep it a secret from everyone but Naruto, so I didn't tell anyone." She paused and looked into Sai's blank face. "And, Tsunade requested me to join so I could look for Sasuke." She whispered almost inaudibly, as she kicked her foot in the ground and stared at it.

Sai's eyes shot up in disbelief at Sakura. "I understand you and Naruto still have faith in him Sakura, but he escaped under Anbu surveillance. He didn't want to stay in the village, which means you don't go and try to 'rescue' him, _again_." He said with his eyes narrowed angrily at Tadashi and the pinkette.

Sakura's head shot up and she glared at him. "You don't understand, I don't believe Sasuke is like that anymore! I think he's changed! Besides, you don't even know him!" She shouted at him.

Tadashi eyes softened at her kind words.

"I know he has tried to kill my comrades _multiple_ times in the past. If he has _changed_, than why hasn't he returned to the village?" He said with his arms folded and glared at her, and then to Tadashi.

Sakura and Tadashi glared at him back, while Tadashi's was more menacing. "Have you been following me?" She decided to change the subject as she folded her arms and put her weight on one leg.

Sai looked at her dumbfounded. "N-n-no." He said as he avoided eye contact with her and looked to the side.

"So it was you who killed that thug earlier and bandaged my arm? And you were the one who started my fire for me the other night?" Sakura said in disbelief as she raised an eyebrow.

Sai looked at her confused with an eyebrow of his own raised. "What are you talking about? I didn't do any of that." He said as he tilted his head to the side slightly and folded his arms.

Sakura stared at him in shock. "Wait; if you didn't do any of that, than did you see who did?" She said concerned.

"I've been following you every now and then to check up on you. I saved you just now, because I heard your scream in the forest and I flew here as fast as I could. I didn't know you were hurt before, so I don't know who helped you. But whoever did is bad news." He said blankly and stared at her shocked face.

"What makes you say that? I'm gratefully to them, they saved my life!" She said angrily and tightened her fist.

Sai sighed and looked into her eyes. "You don't understand, if you read your mission details-"

"ARGH! Why won't you just _tell_ me what-"

She stopped and turned her head to what sounded like a scream of rage.

Her eyes widened recognizing that scream anywhere. "S-Sa-Sasuke?" She whispered breathless.

The pinkette started running as fast as she could to the source with Tadashi.

Sai swung his leg over on to the giant bird. He looked down and saw she forgot her Anbu mask. He stared at the pink figure until it was out of sight. "The village is counting on you, Sakura. You're the only one who can handle this mission. Please, don't do anything reckless." He sighed and the bird flapped its giant wings towards the sky.

**A/N: I can't wait to write the next chapter! XD I wrote an outline for it and I LOVE it! :) By the way, this is a SASUSAKU fanfiction! It's **_**not **_**SaiSaku just so you know! The reason Sai showed up was not because he loves her that way, but he thinks of her as a sister and was concerned. You'll find out why Sasuke wasn't able to save her in the next chapter! Also, there will be some SasuSaku soon so be patient! ;) It's what we've all been waiting for! XD Tell me what you thought of the chapter by reviewing please! :D**


	11. Chapter 10: The Reunion

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Naruto, but I defiantly wish I did! XD**

**A/N: Okay, first off I want to apologize for the delay of this chapter. I like to normally have a new chapter every week, but I COULDN'T WRITE ANYTHING DURING COLUMBUS DAY WEEKENED BECAUSE I HAD FAMILY OVER! D: Not that I don't love seeing my family, it's just I would have had THREE **_**WHOLE**_** DAYS to write and instead I had none! :( I did my best to write this chapter for you guys! So please don't be mad! I'm sorry! So here's Chapter 10! :D Please tell me what you thought at the end by reviewing! **

**By the way, the beginning of the chapter is Sasuke's perspective before Sakura fell. It will go back to Sakura once I'm done explaining what happened to Sasuke before. :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: The Reunion<strong>

Sasuke ran until he was at the edge of the large valley. He summoned a giant hawk and flew down to the bottom. If his assumption was correct, Takamaru's hideout should be located at the bottom of the abyss.

He leapt down from the hawk and ran down the middle the valley. The hawk soared up to the sky and disappeared into the sunlight.

He soon saw giant boulders up ahead and what looked like a cave entrance between them. He stopped and observed the giant cave. He slowly walked towards it with his katana drawn out, ready for an attack.

He activated his Sharingan as he walked into the dark cave. It appeared no sign of any life was in there, until he heard a loud cackle echo off the cave walls.

His Sharingan blazed as he jumped up to dodge the stream of fire headed for him. The fire instead lit the torches all around the darken cave, filling the cave with light.

His eyes widened when saw how huge the cave was with its high ceiling and wide diameter. He jumped down from the ceiling and lunged towards the average height male at the end of the cave.

The male smirked as he ran towards him and threw a kunai with a paper bomb at him. Sasuke jumped to dodge as the man took out a dozen shuriken and threw them rapidly at him. Sasuke used his sword to dodge them all easily.

"I see the rumors are true, you really are an excellent shinobi, Uchiha." The man smirked viciously at Sasuke.

His eyes widened under his mask as he looked at the male. He got a closer look and noticed there was a darkened scar under his left eye. He had shaggy, long, black hair and what appeared to be a crown with rubies tied to his belt. He wore black pants and a torn black V-neck showing the fishnet he wore underneath. Bandages were poorly wrapped around both of his upper arms and were dripping with blood as he smirked at Sasuke.

"Are we going to continue this charade? I'm sure you know who I am by now," Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. "If not, I'm Takamaru, nice to meet you Uchiha." He snickered as he held out his hand to him even though he was on the other side of the cave.

Sasuke glared at him as he tightened the grip on his katana and ran towards him. His chidori was emitting from the sword as he aimed for his chest. Takamaru took out his own katana and raced towards him.

Sasuke froze halfway across the cave as his eyes widened in a panic at something. "No… _SAKURA_!" He screamed madly, creating echoes all around them.

Takamaru smirked at his chance and ran even faster.

Blood splattered onto the ground as the raven shrieked in pain. The katana plunged through the side of his ribs. Takamaru smirked as the raven fell to the floor gasping. He pressed both hands against his side to stop the blood flow.

Takamaru reached over and yanked off Sasuke's mask. He smirked at Sasuke's twisted face in pain.

"I guess I was wrong, you're nothing special. You didn't even try to dodge. I would have thought a ninja of your level would know better to lock away all emotions when fighting an opponent, but you're just a joke!" He laughed and kicked Sasuke hard in the ribs.

Sasuke screamed in pain from the kick to his already gushing wound.

"So much for the last Uchiha, you're pathetic!" He shouted mockingly.

A nerve snapped in Sasuke from those words. "SH-SHUT _UP_!" He yelled angrily as he began to slowly stand up clutching his side.

Takamaru began to cackle, he stopped when he noticed a man with long, brown hair at the cave's entrance walk in.

He smirked at the man as he walked in. "So, how did it go Hideki?" He looked at Hideki's face "It seems the girl was able to do a number on you." He said cackling and kicked Sasuke in the ribs again causing him to fall down, gasping.

Hideki shrugged. "I will admit she was pretty good," He continued walking towards them. "She was very physically strong and I could tell she was a skilled medical ninja too."

Takamaru smirked. "My, maybe this girl has some valuable attributes after all, if she was able to do that to you," He mocked. "Why don't you go bring her here? Perhaps she would be very valuable as a healer, or maybe my wife." He sneered as he placed his foot on top of Sasuke's side.

Sasuke's eyes widened angrily as a dark, cold chakra emitted from him.

Takamaru felt something burning on his foot and looked down at Sasuke. "What the _HELL_? What is this?" Takamaru gasped as he took his foot off Sasuke and stared at him, aghast.

Hideki smirked and quickly ran out of the cave.

Sasuke slowly stood up with his chin down and bangs covering his face. He was fully engulfed in a dark, blue chakra cloak.

Takamaru looked at him bewildered as he slowly lifted his head. He cringed when he saw blood pouring out of his eye, and the dangerous glare he was giving him with it.

Sasuke howled in rage as the Susanoo took over him.

"DON'T _EVER_, TALK ABOUT _SAKURA _LIKE THAT_, _YOU _BASTARD_!" Sasuke screeched as a stream of Amaterasu flames burst all around him.

Takamaru's back landed against the wall as the flames pierced through his chest. He howled in pain as he was burned alive. His whole body was engulfed in the black flames. His screaming then stopped suddenly.

Sasuke extinguished the flames and saw nothing remained of Takamaru. He smirked as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Hideki walked back in and stood in front of Sasuke as he smirked. "Well, well, do I have some plans for you, Uchiha," He chuckled as he grabbed Sasuke's arm. "Soon you'll be meeting one of your old friends, although I suppose you look at her as more than a friend from the way you just reacted. This will make everything more interesting." A wide smirk appeared on his face as he dragged him away into a hidden passageway deep underground.

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><p>Sakura continued running with Tadashi following beside her. In the corner of her eye, she saw Tadashi suddenly fall to the ground.<p>

She stopped and turned to him quickly. "Tadashi! Are you alright?" She said in a panic as she scooped him up in her arms.

The pinkette placed her finger on his chest. She could feel his heart beat every few seconds, barely. Her eyes widened from the condition he was in.

Tadashi looked at her softly, and then slowly closed his eyes.

"No, you can't be, because if you are, wouldn't that mean he's?" Her eyes widened further and she quickly took off through the valley again.

"_Please Sasuke, please be alright."_

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><p>Hideki smirked, admiring his finished work on Sasuke still unconscious in a cell. "Things are going to get fun now." He cackled as he ran out of the cave.<p>

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><p>Sakura continued running for a few minutes until she saw a flash of someone coming towards her up ahead. She stopped and looked all around as she took out a kunai in one hand, while the other held Tadashi against her chest.<p>

She gasped as she felt someone's kunai under her chin. "Drop the kunai or your life will end." The voice whispered into her ear, threateningly.

Her eyes widened recognizing that voice from earlier. "If you come with me, I'll let you see the person most important to you before he dies," He chuckled. "If you don't, I'll kill you right now."

Sakura's eyes widened from shock causing her to drop the kunai to the ground. She mentally cursed herself for her carelessness.

"Wise decision," He chuckled as he put his kunai down. "Now follow me; I'll know if you run off so I wouldn't try it, unless you want to die." He laughed as he took off through the valley.

She narrowed her eyes at his back, having no choice but to follow.

"Sasuke please be safe. Whatever you do, don't die." She whispered as she took off after him, with Tadashi still unconscious in her arms.

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><p>He felt something cold constrict around his torso as he slowly woke up. Everything was dark, except for a lighted torch nearby. He could feel something cold running down his body. He felt tired, very tired.<p>

He looked down with his blurry vision and saw something gray and dark red wrapped around him tightly. He tried to move and screamed in pain from the movement. He looked down again trying to focus more as he gritted his teeth.

Chains were tightly wrapped around him with his own blood leaking through them. He was struggling for breath as he panted from the binding.

"Wh-Who the _h-hell_, d-did th-this?" He chocked out as he struggled from the chains. He flinched as he gritted his teeth in pain.

His eyes widened remembering what occurred before. "SAKURA, WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed with his Sharingan eyes moving frantically all around.

His scarlet eyes stopped moving and stared at a spot on the wall fixatedly.

His eyes sank as he gazed down at the chains with his bangs covering his face.

"Don't do anything stupid, Sakura." He whispered to himself as he sat and waited in silence for his old teammate.

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><p>Tadashi stirred in Sakura's arms causing her to look down aghast. Her eyes widened seeing him open his eyes in a frantic. He blinked a few times and then focused his eyes on hers, intensely.<p>

Sakura smiled. "I glad you're okay, Tadashi." A tear fell down her cheek as she smiled softly at him.

She blushed in realization of her crying and wiped away the tear with her wrist as she continued to smile.

Tadashi looked at her softly as his eyes sank down. Sakura looked down at him curiously until she heard Hideki call out to her.

"Okay, we're here." Hideki called out and stopped in front of a cave's entrance.

Sakura's mouth opened ajar as she gazed upon the size of the cave she was standing in front of.

Hideki smirked to himself as he walked inside. "Come on; don't you want to see the man you love?"

Sakura glared at him. "What did you do to Sasuke?" She yelled as she narrowed her eyes.

Hideki turned to Sakura chuckling. "Me? I didn't do _anything_ to him. You just arrived a little too late, that's all." He said smirking as he shrugged his shoulders.

Sakura's temper snapped at those words.

Her fist glowed bright blue as she ran towards him madly. "DON'T _EVER _TALK ABOUT _SASUKE_ LIKE THAT _AGAIN,_ OR YOU'LL REGRET IT!" She screamed furiously with her fist only a few feet away from his face.

He snapped his fingers and smirked. "Funny, he said the same thing earlier, but about you." He laughed as he watched her baffled expression.

Chains were shot all around the cave in every direction towards her. Sakura tossed Tadashi out of her arms and he flew weakly away from her to dodge one. She did a cartwheel missing a few to her side and then shot one out of the way with her fist. She jumped into the air to dodge one shooting out of the ground beneath her.

Hideki smirked at her. Another one was shot from the ceiling at her in midair. Tadashi's eyes widened, and he called out to her madly causing a barrage of chains head towards him in the process.

She looked at Tadashi then up and was caught by a barrage of chains as it wrapped around her torso and arms.

"Shit!" She gasped only making the chains tighten around her as she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Tadashi landed in a heap of chains covering his small body, screeching in pain.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," Hideki said snickering as he coolly walked over to her. "It will only make them tighten around you more."

Sakura coughed repeatedly from the hold and glared up at him.

"Awww, what's with the face? I thought you would be happy to see him, the last Uchiha." He chuckled. "What a joke he is."

Tadashi continued struggling until he heard the insult. His Sharingan turned dark red as he looked at him with a death glare.

Sakura's own glare intensified. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO SASUKE?" She snapped at him.

He smirked. "I'll show you if you want." He said nonchalantly as he looked down at her, chuckling softly.

Sakura's eyes widened for half a second and then continued to glare at him.

"Isn't that what you want, I presume, Sakura?" He licked his lip as he said her name and continued smirking.

Sakura looked at him furiously. "How do you know my name and what do you want with me and Sasuke?" She said through gritted teeth.

Hideki laughed. "You'll see," He turned around and then looked back at her. "I learned your name from the man we are about to see. I'm sure you'll recognize him, even in his current state," He smirked. "Well, shall we go?" He pulled her back up to her feet forcefully and grabbed one of the chains dangling from her.

Hideki put his free hand in his pocket and took out a piece of cloth. "Makes it more interesting," A small grin appeared on his face as he tied the piece of cloth around her eyes. "Don't you think?"

Sakura didn't say anything, which caused him to laugh mockingly. He led her to the back of the cave down a hidden passageway deep underground, with Tadashi still struggling in his chains.

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><p>Sakura slowly walked down the stairs into the darkened atmosphere. As she went deeper and deeper, it became colder and all she could hear was Hideki's and her own footsteps. She couldn't see anything, and she felt like she had been walking down the stairs for over five minutes, at least.<p>

Sakura didn't say anything at all the whole time and almost tripped as she reached the landing of the stairs. Hideki continued to lead her as he opened a door at the end of a hallway causing her to look up from the sound.

Sakura could hear him silently chuckling as he guided her. She could see a faint glow of light through the blindfold, and something like red eyes only about fifteen feet away. Her body began trembling, realizing this must be Sasuke.

"Who are you?" A deep, angry voice said in what sounded like pain.

Her emerald eyes fully widened under the blindfold, recognizing that voice anywhere. Her legs stumbled a little from shock, causing Hideki to chuckle.

"My, my, you seem awfully chipper don't you?" Hideki said nonchalantly and began untying the blindfold. "Can't you see who I brought to visit you? Don't the Uchiha have the best bloodline for visibility? Or is it as much of a sham as your skills in battle?" He mocked and swiped the blindfold from Sakura's emerald eyes.

Sakura blinked a few times clearing her vision. She yelped silently to herself as she gazed at familiar Sharingan eyes staring back at her.

Sakura had to blink again to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. What she saw almost made her fall over in complete shock.

He was staring at her with widened eyes, and his lips were slightly parted in shock.

Sakura examined him closer and noticed he had chains encircled around him like her. She gasped when she saw they were coated in blood.

"S-Sa-Sasuke-"

"SAKURA, LOOK OUT!"

She swiftly turned around in surprise at Sasuke's mention of her, and saw Hideki had his hand on the hilt of his katana.

Hideki smirked. "Oh, I see what's going on; the 'Great Uchiha Sasuke' has a soft spot for his old teammate," He pulled his katana out a few centimeters from its sheath. "Although, I thought you had broken those bonds long ago, isn't that right, Sasuke?" He asked mockingly.

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

Sakura looked at him in the corner of her eye with a slight blush on her face.

"I have an idea," Hideki said snickering as he put his katana back in its sheath and walked over to Sakura.

"DON'T TOUCH HER YOU BASTARD!" Sasuke snapped as he tried to break free from his chains.

"Sasuke?" Sakura whispered to herself in disbelief.

"Relax, I'm going to undue her chains," He said as the tips of his fingertips glowed with chakra and turned to Sasuke with a smirk. "You know Uchiha, if you have been trying to come across as a coldhearted bastard all this time; you're kind of ruining your image." He finished his sentence as the chains fell to a pile at Sakura's feet.

Sasuke gave him a deadly glare.

"Tell you what Sakura, if you don't join me, I'll kill everyone most important to you besides Sasuke," Sakura looked at him aghast. "Or, you can kill Sasuke and no one will die except him." He snickered.

Sakura's eyes enlarged in fear. "Wh-What di-did y-you s-s-say? Wa-Wait, wh-why?" Her legs trembled as she spoke.

Sasuke looked shocked for a second at the two, and then his face went emotionless.

Hideki took out his katana again causing Sakura to stagger backwards and Sasuke eyes to fire up.

"WHAT DID I-"

Hideki threw the katana at Sakura's feet.

Sakura gasped, as she and Sasuke looked at him bewildered.

"Well, choose. Which do you value more, your friends or an old teammate who went rogue?" He folded his arms against his chest. "Sakura no matter what, you will end up joining me so don't even try to get out of it. I'll even make you my personal 'nurse,' if you know what I mean." He winked at her as he grinned.

Sasuke eyes widened in shock and then quickly turned to rage. "IF YOU TOUCH HER I'LL MURDER YOU!" He screamed as he violently tried to break free from his chains once again.

Sakura looked at Sasuke terrified as he screamed in pain. "Sasuke, please don't use any more strength!" She screamed worriedly, as she ran to the cell's iron bars and gripped her hands to them as she peered through at him.

Sasuke Sharingan disappeared immediately as he gazed into her beautiful, worried eyes. He then looked down at his chains, hiding his face from Sakura's view with his bangs.

"Fine, then just end my suffering, Sakura." He sounded a bit saddened to Sakura. But he also seemed to have spoken in a monotone voice to her.

She looked at him curiously, wondering why he suddenly would say something like that.

He slowly tilted his head up and looked into Sakura's eyes, expressionless. Her eyes widened realizing what Sasuke was trying to do.

Sakura nodded slightly and turned to Hideki. "Can I heal him, before I kill him?" She said with saddened eyes as she looked at Hideki.

Hideki smirked. "I suppose. Here's the key." He handed the key to Sakura nonchalantly. "Even if you do turn on me, I'll make sure you suffer if we fight. Keep that in mind."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you." She said softly and picked up the katana as she unlocked the cell's door and walked in.

Sasuke stared at her blankly as she sliced through the chains with her chakra. She looked down, hiding her blush from him with her bangs.

Sasuke's shoulder relaxed as the chains fell down.

She ripped off his shirt and vest, coated in blood.

She gasped a little to herself as she gazed at the gashes all around his toned body. His chest was covered in blood with a huge gash on his side.

Sasuke continued looking at her with blank eyes as he watched her gaze at his body.

"Please lay down." Sakura whispered, still trying to avoid eye contact with Sasuke.

Sasuke slowly laid down on his back as Hideki watched from afar.

The katana laid next to Sakura's side as her palms casted a green glow. She gently placed them on Sasuke's toned chest, blushing madly.

The wounds slowly began to heal as the blood drifted back into them.

"Hurry up!" Hideki called out with his arms folded.

The bleeding stopped as the tissues around the wounds healed.

She panted softly and wiped her brow as she healed the massive gash on his side. Sasuke cringed as she increased the pressure on his ribs with her hands. Chakra glowed all around his wound and her hands as she bit her lip.

Sakura removed her hands once she was done and panted heavily. She slowly turned her head and looked into Sasuke's eyes.

He was staring at her with thankful eyes and hid a small smile as he nodded slightly.

Sakura smiled at him and blushed. Her eyes then turned to sadness seeing the katana by her side. She slowly reached her hand to the hilt and held it.

"Well? Do it!" Hideki yelled in anger.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke." She whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for the impact.

She raised the katana above her head and swung down towards Sasuke's throat.

Sasuke reached out his hand to the hilt of the katana, stopping the swing inches away from his throat. He smirked as he sat up in an instant and took the katana away from her. He lunged towards Hideki sending chidori through the blade.

_"Perfect, Sakura."_

Hideki smirked and quickly dodged the blow as it went through the wall. "I thought you would heal him so he could fight me, brat. But this makes it more fun." He snickered.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows at him as if he was crazy.

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed in anger. Chidori emitted throughout his whole body bouncing off all the walls, missing Sakura.

Hideki smirked and quickly appeared behind Sakura with his arm around her neck and a kunai at her throat, laughing.

Sasuke looked shocked at how fast he moved with his Sharingan almost unable to catch him. He quickly turned to Sakura as rage continued to build in his eyes.

Sakura tried to break free from his hold but was chocked even more from him.

"LET HER GO, OR _ELSE_!" Sasuke snarled as his hands turned to fists.

Hideki chuckled. "There you go making threats again," Sasuke's knuckles turned white and he gritted his teeth. "Well, I'm going to make one for you instead. You have five seconds to drop my katana, if you don't I'll kill her." He pressed the kunai against her throat more creating a small bead of blood.

Sakura started crying and gasping from not being able to breathe. Her face began turning a shade of purple as she struggled for air.

Sasuke slowly closed his eyes as he increased his grip on the katana.

"Five,"

Sakura continued to gasp as she placed her hands on his forearm, trying to pull the kunai away from her throat.

"Four,"

Hideki chuckled at Sakura and pressed the kunai more to her throat.

"Three,"

Blood was slowly dripping down Sakura's throat to her shirt.

"Two,"

Sasuke opened his eyes fully, and shot him a deadly glare as blood cascaded down his cheek.

Hideki's eyes widened at Sasuke. He howled in pain as his body was shrouded in black flames and fell to the ground, dead instantly.

As he fell to the ground, he dropped his kunai and it sliced through Sakura's throat to her windpipe. She gasped for air as she slowly fell towards the ground and began coughing, violently.

In a second, Sasuke was by her side and caught her in his arms.

Sakura turned to him in shock as he held her in his arms. She looked at him softly as her eyes turned to sadness.

Sasuke put his hand on her cheek as he looked at her softly. "Please, heal yourself Sakura." He whispered pleadingly.

Sakura put her hand to her throat and flash of green emitted for less than a second.

She looked up to Sasuke and smiled softly. "I can't Sasuke; my chakra is almost at zero." She whispered in a cracked voice.

Panic showed in Sasuke's eyes as he looked at her. He held her close to his chest and embraced her gently, as he laid his head on her shoulder, hiding his face from view.

Sakura's body stiffened as her lips slightly parted in shock from Sasuke's action. She quickly recovered from her shock, realizing Sasuke was actually holding her. She laid her head on his shirtless chest as she held him too.

Tears began falling down Sakura's face onto Sasuke's chest.

He lifted his head from her shoulder and looked into her puffy eyes, sadly. He placed both of his hands on her cheeks and gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

Her eyes widened and she began crying even harder.

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization and he reached over and picked up the blindfold. "What are you going to do Sasuke?" Her voice cracked softly.

"Shhh, don't speak Sakura." He whispered as he tied the cloth around her neck gently to try to stop the blood flow. She cringed as the cloth touched her wound.

Sasuke stared at her softly. "Sakura, thank you for healing me," He picked her up bridal-style in his arms causing her to blush as she hung her arms around his neck. "I promise I will find someone to heal you, and you will _not_ die." He whispered gently and placed his face inches from hers.

Sakura blushed from the distance between them and then her eyes widened.

Sasuke placed his lips on hers, kissing her gently.

Sakura's body went numb in his arms from the kiss. She closed her eyes and began kissing him back. She melted into the kiss and ran her fingers through his hair as he gently ran his hands up and down her back. The two broke apart after they both ran out of breath, panting for air.

Sakura was blushing madly as she looked at Sasuke, shocked.

Sasuke looked into her eyes and then softly smiled.

He held Sakura with one arm and grabbed the katana with its sheath. He tied the sheath to his belt and took off with Sakura up the steep staircase.

Once he was at the top, Tadashi flew to him and landed on his shoulder. They departed from the cave and into the stormy, night.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading this chapter and being patient for it! ^_^ I am very sorry you had to wait two weeks! But you got a longer chapter and there was SASUSAKU finally! :D YAY! Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter! :D **


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